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The Large Catacomb (Italian - catacomba maggiore) is a catacomb on the via Nomentana in the modern Trieste quarter of Rome. It is first mentioned in the 5th century Martyrologium Hieronymianum, which records that those martyred on 16 September were buried "in the large cemetery" (“in cimiterio maiore”) on via Nomentana, the name it also appears as in high medieval pilgrim itineraries.
History
Originating around the middle of the 3rd century, the catacomb was initially divided into two separate nuclei with two independent access stairways, now near the present-day entrance in via Asmara. Surveys carried out above ground have uncovered a rural Roman villa which was turned into a cemetery as soon as it was abandoned, initially with semi-underground burials and then in the 3rd century by digging an underground cemetery. At the end of that century the two sections were merged, turning the single cemetery into the biggest catacomb in Rome, which remained in use until the first half of the 5th century. High Medieval pilgrims' itineraries mention an above ground basilica dedicated to Saint Emerentiana and two undeground burial chambers by then converted into sanctuaries dedicated to Saint Victor and Saint Alexander.
It was first rediscovered in 1493 by Augustinian monks from Santa Maria del Popolo, which owned the land in which it fell until 1870. Antonio Bosio managed to penetrate the cemetery early in the 17th century and mentioned it in his posthumous book Roma sotterranea, though he confused it with the neighbouring catacomb of Sant'Agnese, to which it was linked by an ancient sandstone quarry. In the 18th century it and many other catacombs in Rome were badly damaged by relic-hunters. The first modern studies of the catacomb began in the 19th century, laying the foundations for those by the priest Umberto Maria Fasola in the 20th century.
Martyrs
The entry for 16th September in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum records the martyrs Victor, Felix, Alexander, Papia and Emerentiana as being buried in the catacomb. Nothing is known of the lives or martydoms of Victor, Felix and Alexander, though they appear again on 20 April. Emerentiana also appears on 23 January, where it states that she was stoned to death near the tomb of the virgin Agnes, to whom she was a "foster sister", and was buried in the cemetery neighbouring that of Agnes. Her relics are now in the basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura. The 29 January entry in the same Martyrologium mentions that two martyred soldiers Papias and Maurus were buried in this catacomb. They were converted to Christianity whilst interrogating two Christians, Sisinnius and Saturninus.
At the end of the 19th century, a stone was discovered during the demolition of the church of San Salvatore de pede pontis near the isola Tiberina. It was damaged on its right side but recorded Victor, Felix, Emerentiana and Alexander. Sixty years later, during excavations of the via Nomentana catacomb, the missing part of the stone was discovered, mentioning Papias. A marble screen was found in the Large Catacomb by a Christian woman named Patricia dedicated ex voto in memory of Saints Alexander, Maurus, Papias and Felix.
Description
In 1876 Mariano Armellini discovered a small underground basilica which he mistook for Emerentiana's tomb. In it are several frescoes, the earliest dating to the first half of 4th century with figures of the main martyrs in the catacomb. Recent studies have shown that it was in fact the burial place of Victor and Alexander recorded in high medieval pilgrim itineraries.
The room is divided in two by an arch and is embellished by a crossing vault, columns with capitals and a skylight. There is also a chair sculpted in tuff and on the opposite wall a table also carved in tuff for a collection of sacred oils. This is not the only chair present in the catacomb - there are seven others, all in the same area of the catacomb, known as the 'region of the chairs', dating to the 4th century. The table and the eight chairs were symbolic in function and linked to the so-called 'rites of refreshment' borrowed from the pagans by the Christians, as were the rites of a funeral banquet - in these the deceased person's family would gather at the tomb on the anniversary of their death to feast, to sprinkle wine or milk on the tomb or even to drip solid food or liquids into it through small holes.
The 'region of the chairs' also held a perfectly intact 200-250 AD pagan sarcophagus showing hunting scenes with traces of paint - it was reused for Aurelius Tabula', a Christian whose name is carved on the cover.
Near the crypt of Emerentiana is an arcosolium with a Constantinian-era painting of a praying virgin in a full dalmatic and a pearl necklace, with a child in front of her. Some interpret her as one of the first attempts to paint the Virgin Mary, almost like a priest, though equally it may be a representation of a dead woman buried there. On the sides of the arcosolium are painted two christograms.
References
- (in Italian) De Santis L. - G. Biamonte, Le catacombe di Roma, Newton & Compton Editori, Roma 1997, pp. 206–214
- (in Italian) Testini P., Archeologia Cristiana, Edipuglia, 1980
- (in Italian) Josi E., Coemeterium Maius, in Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana 10 (1933) 7-16
- (in Italian) Armellini M., Scoperta della cripta di S. Emerenziana e di una memoria relativa alla cattedra di S. Pietro nel cimitero Ostriano, Roma 1877
- (in Italian) Fasola U. M., La regione delle cattedre nel Cimitero Maggiore, in Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana 37 (1961) 237-267
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