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From Catacombs to Churches: The Martyrs Influence Upon a Vertical Rome

ABSTRACT: Although the landscape and architectural history of Rome has already been thoroughly canvassed by scholars, this paper attempts to provide a different lens for reading through the vertical layers of the Roman landscape and to dispel common misconceptions about the early Christian catacomb. From its initial nascent, Rome and its physical landscape have been through a multitude of transformations and its present-day form can be read as a vertical palimpsest. Just as one can flip through the history books to look at the chronology of Roman history, the architect can look through the different architectural periods by digging deeper and deeper into the soil where the most ancient structures lie. At the very bottom, beneath the aqueducts and Roman sewers, lie the catacombs. Despite being an architecture that has never seen the light of day, and for much of history has remained hidden or lost, to humanity, the religious importance of the early Christian burial sites has meant that the earliest forms of the catacomb have never stopped shaping the physical religious landscape above it. By looking at the architecture of four well-known catacombs, and comparing architectural changes across the catacombs to specific points in Roman history and the transition to above ground churches, this paper shows that the spiritual importance of early Christian martyrs impacted the aboveground transformation of Romes physical landscape even centuries after the exact location of many catacombs were forgotten. By highlighting a new method of reading the vertical Roman landscape, this paper contributes insight by showing that although there may be gaps in the intellectual heritage on the catacombs themselves, architectural historians still seem well versed in the catacombs religious legacy on different elevations in/beneath Rome.

I. Introduction Between the monuments from the Renaissance and those from Romes earliest days that appear in every tourists guidebook, the Rome of today is a conglomeration of different architectural styles and civilizations. From its very beginning, Rome has maintained a labyrinth of testimonials to the past, and to past civilizations that have left colossal structures with arches, temples, columns, still protruding in places through the surface above.1 Citing a thirty to fifty foot rise in the elevation of the city since the days of Julius Caesar, Alex Marshall notes, it would be hard to find a place in Rome that does not have historically interesting ruins beneath it.2 Della Porta agrees, likening the verticality of Rome to a journey [] to seek out the roots of a buried, or partially uncovered, civilization; a civilization that [...] has been buried by the deposits of the centuries.3 These layers of Rome begin with a world that showcased the glory of the pagan gods through architecture and form. Ordinary, everyday things 4 such as streets, latrines, fountains, stadiums, public baths, and temples5 existed aboveground in ancient Rome. Dispersed amongst this basic public infrastructure, religious temples and shrines attest to the widespread worship of pagan gods and goddesses derived from the Greeks. However, beneath these beginning layers of ancient Rome lies the true foundation upon which the Eternal City rests: even farther underground, below the aqueducts and sewage systems, are the catacombs, an architecture that has never seen the light of day. The Christian catacombs, since their invisible nascent, and the martyrs that rested within them have played an integral part in the palimpsest of Romes spatial

Ivana Della Porta, Subterranean rome (Venice: Arsenale Editrice, 2000), 11. Alex Marshall, Beneath the Metropolis (New York: Carroll and Graf, 2006), 102. Figure 1 illustrates Marshalls point. 3 Della Porta, 12. 4 Della Porta, 11. 5 Marshall, 102.
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relationships through the catacombs evolution of form and function into above ground basilica and the subsequent process of translating important relics from early martyr tombs to other churches. II. Overview of the Roman Catacombs The Roman catacombs, subterranean burial complexes where the early Christian community buried their dead, are located outside of Romes walls. Consisting of a vast network of galleries honeycombed together and stacked up to five levels (piani) high, the catacombs, as stated by de Rossi, would span more than the length of Italy itself if connected together and placed in one continuous line.6 Figure 2 illustrates the typical form of a subterranean gallery: long, narrow passageways with roughly one to two feet of headspace, containing horizontal burial niches (loculi) on both walls to allow mass burial. However, these were not the only type of tombs in the catacombs. Contrasted to ordinary graves (loculi), more costly individual tombs, called arcosolia, are characterized with a deep arch carved into the wall, above the tomb.7 The early Christians were also buried in small, rectangular chambers such as cubiculum, where the tombs of the wealthy and popes were located, and hypogea, family vaults.8 Fossores, men who were hired for the construction and upkeep of the catacombs,9 also considered the circulation of light, air, and people through these spaces. Rock- hewn staircases, or catabatica, allowed people to move from one piani to another and pierced shafts through the soil, called luminaria, allowed light and air to reach the underground cavities.10

G.B. de Rossi, JS Northcote (ed.) and WR Brownlow (ed.),Roma soteranea; or an account of the roman catacombs especially of the cemetery of st. Callixtus; comp from the works of commendatore de rossi (London: Longmans Green and Co.: 1879), 2. 7 See figure 3. 8 De Rossi, 7-8. 9 Philippe Pergola, Christian Rome: Early Christian Rome Catacombs and Basilicas Past and Present (Rome: Vision S.R.L.: 2000), 95. 10 De Rossi, 9.

The Roman catacombs were primarily used between the second and sixth centuries. Contrasted to the pagan funerary practice of cremation, the early Christians custom of inhumation lead to an increased demand for land. The development of the catacombs also reflects the changing needs of the Christian community, which as Rutgers points out, underwent considerable growth during the late antique period. 11 As time passed, the new cemeteries expanded underneath the surface of the land, creating miles of passageway.12 Although some of these catacombs remained rather small, the expanse of others are so large as to render them virtual necropoleis or cities of the dead.13 This paper explores the different points in the lifespan of four well-known and documented catacombs-- the Catacombs of St. Callistus, St. Sebastian, and Domitilla, and the Vatican necropolis.14 The Catacomb of St. Callistus, named for the deacon who excavated a series of galleries in the third century, was the first real early Christian communal underground cemetery.15 Created gradually over the course of two centuries, St. Callistus is comprised of four piani, bounded aboveground by the via Appia and via Ardeatina and marked by individual mausolea.16 Due to its location on the via Appia, Callistus also played an important role on both the ancient and medieval pilgrimage routes, with pilgrims traveling to see the Papal Crypt, the resting place of a multitude of third century popes and martyrs.17 The crypt, formally resembling a nucleus amongst long galleries, contains four niches for sarcophagi and twelve loculi graves.18 The Papal Crypt acted as a focal point for the landscapes both above and below ground. Connected to the

L.V. Rutgers, Subterranean Rome (Leuven: Peeters, 2000), 53. J. Osborne, The roman catacombs in the middle ages, in Papers of the British School at Rome, vol. 53 (1985), 280. 13 Rutgers, 9. 14 Figure 4 details the location of the 4 catacombs. 15 Rutgers, 122. Alternate spellings include Callisto and Callixtus. 16 De Rossi, 394. 17 De Rossi, 299. 18 Rutgers, 123.
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crypt are a series of long galleries connected by one transverse gallery, which the deacon excavated for the poor.19 Contrasted to the earlier, more organic excavations, the orthogonal excavations show the start of design planning in the catacombs, and will become the standard catacomb design during the fourth century, at the height of their popularity.20 The catacomb of Saint Sebastian is perhaps the most well known of the catacombs. Also located on the via Appia, it was one of the few catacombs whose location was never forgotten. It is from San Sebastian that the term catacomb actually derives. Known throughout the Middle Ages as coemeterium ad catacumbas,21 its name translates from the vernacular directions to the small Christian cemetery located ad catacumbas, or near the hollows on the via Appia.22 Famous for the remains of Saint Sebastian, the catacomb originated as a small complex but saw enormous growth in the fourth century once the saints remains were interred.23 It is most distinctly recognized now by the basilica apostolorum that was constructed aboveground on top of the saints remains during the fourth century.24 The Domitilla catacomb is one of the largest and oldest catacombs in Rome. Located along the via Ardeatina in an area already rich with funerary monuments, the catacombs origins date back the the second century. In its first phase, Domitilla consisted of seven separate hypogea for seven separate pagan Roman families.25 The early Christians only began using the catacomb for the burial of large numbers of people in the fourth century, adding three new

See Figure 5, plan of St. Callistus from De Rossi, 409. Facts from Rutgers, 124. Rutger, 124. 21 John Osborne, Catacomb from Grove Art Online, 1. 22 Rutgers additionally notes that the term catacomb began to replace the term cryptae (crypt) in the Middle Ages,43. 23 De Rossi, 332. 24 Rutgers, 128. The present basilica was constructed in the 17th century and is much smaller, although it remains in the same location as the original. 25 Rutgers, 130.
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subterranean levels and an aboveground basilica dedicated to Saints Nereus and Achilleus.26 Funerary in nature, the basilica commemorates the saints martyrdom and its apse lies directly on top of the original location of their tombs. Today, the catacomb is named after the Domitilla family who owned the area where the catacomb was developed but in antiquity, was named after the saints Nereus, Achilleus, and Petronilla who were buried there.27 Rutgers hypothesizes that perhaps some members of this Domitillia family converted to Christianity and [] put their lands at the disposal of Romes early Christian community [] for funerary purposes.28 The final catacomb explored in this paper has a slightly different narrative from the others. Its pagan origins dating back to the first and second centuries, the Vatican Necropolis originally consisted of open air, aboveground pagan tombs.29 Further evidence suggests the Christianization of existing mausolea starting in the third century, followed shortly by the internment of St. Peter, and the subsequent construction of the subterranean piani.30 While De Rossi notes that while the foundations of the vast Basilica which now guards the tomb of St. Peter has rendered the original catacombs unrecognizable, 31 Rutgers attempts to paint a vague picture of what it might have looked like. He states that St. Peters grave was a simple one, excavated into the ground and located amongst other simple graves. Rutgers also maintains that later, in the course of the second century, more monumental graves, in mausolea, were built in the area, culminating with the construction of the basilica under Constantines reign.32 III. The First Catacombs

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Rutgers, 132-3. De Rossi, 176-83 28 Rutgers, 130. 29 Ibid, 140. 30 Ibid, 143. 31 De Rossi, 113. 32 Rugters, 144.

While Christianity may be considered, quite literally, an underground religion during its beginning in the Roman Empire, it is important to note that, as Osborne points out, it is a misconception that the catacombs were places where early Christians hid from persecution in periods of intolerance because they were never inhabited.33 Even though some have argued that the early Christians buried their dead outside of Romes city walls to differentiate themselves from pagans, the placement of the catacombs outside the city walls adheres in fact to existing ancient Roman law.34 The law stated in the Twelve Tables from 450 BCE is a written explanation of why these tombs line roadways like the via Appia and Ardeatina and are mostly absent within the confines of the city.35 In addition, the use of the catacombs was not solely Christian-- both Jewish and pagan communities buried their dead there as well, but as more and more of the citys inhabitants were converted to the new faith the percentage of Christian burials increased.36 The growth of Christianity was an extremely gradual process. Archaeologists have struggled to date the earliest catacombs; earlier scholars around the Counter Reformation such as De Rossi previously traced their origins back to the first century, however more recent analysis has found that the catacombs date to the second century. Scholars have realized two conclusions from this shift in timespan, both leading to the question, where were the first century Christians buried if the catacombs did not yet exist?37 Rutgers hypothesizes that the first Christians used the same burial locations and customs as the pagans.38 Sites like the Vatican necropolis and Domitilla both suggest that this hypothesis may be correct. Due to its early origins, the Vatican
Osborne, Roman Catacombs, 279. Osborne himself does not take this incorrect view, but rather implies that others have thought this in Roman Catacombs, 279. 35 Ibid, 279. 36 Ibid, 280. 37 Rutgers, 54. 38 Ibid, 56
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necropolis contains interesting evidence that shows the transitional process from pagan cremation practices to inhumation. Rutgers points out evidence for the shift: in the original mausolea on the south side, one finds a combination of urns set into the walls for ashes and arcosolia reserved for inhumation, while on the north side, the urns no longer appear.39 The early Christians at Domitilla seem to have taken a different approach to Christianizing the pagan space by painting Old Testament scenes inside existing hypogeum.40 Robert Gaston provides additional analysis on this point, recognizing that symbols such as the anchor, doves, palm, vines, [] and Christs monogram are evidence of Christian internment, especially when Christian funerary notions had not entirely supplanted traditional pagan ones.41 Christian ritual and liturgy initially relied heavily upon martyrs. Especially during the third century persecutions by Diocletian, the Christian faith took its strength and grew its sense of community by venerating those that the Romans tortured and killed. The importance of the martyrs is seen through their tomb placement inside the catacombs, acting as nuclei for passageways to other graves. Although martyrs graves were not distinctively marked at this point in time and looked similar to common burials, the site placement of the tombs reflects their importance. Characteristically, in catacombs like Callistus, followers wanted to be buried as close as possible to important clergy members or martyrs, prompting the construction of expansive galleries off-shooting from nuclei like spokes on a wheel.42 Gaston notes that the acknowledgement of the martyrs tombs went beyond their site placement during the initial centuries and into written evidence that survived into the pilgrim guidebooks of the Middle

Ibid, 142. Ibid, 132. 41 Robert W. Gaston, British Travellers and Scholars in the Roman Catacombs 1450-1900, in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, v. 46 (Warburg Institute, 1983),151. 42 Osborne, 279.
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Ages.43 In addition, the early Christians sense of community grew through the Christianization of the via Appia, a major road through Rome. Spera notes that the appearance of the first cemeteries (such as Callistus or Sebastian) along the via Appia shows a preference for an independent burial space where Christians, reflecting a growing sense of community, could [] celebrate funerary rites and experience death as a preparation for the resurrection.44 IV. The Influence of Constantine and the Peak of Popularity The passage of the Edict of Milan in 313 marks a major point in the history of the catacombs. Issued by Constantine, the proclamation legitimized the worship of Christianity in the Roman Empire and ended the outright persecution of Christians. As a result, many Romans converted to Christianity. Due to this increased tolerance towards Christianity and its followers, the religious landscape of Rome saw substantial transformations both above and below ground.45 It is in this period between the fourth and fifth centuries that the catacombs saw the most growth and use.46 The catacombs remained confined to areas outside of the city walls, for as Osborne points out, no evidence suggests that any laws changed to allow inhumation inside Rome itself.47 Spera notes that new forms, particularly associated with the martyrs tombs, developed along the via Appia in the fourth century.48 Below ground, the catacombs were extended, and the mausolea of wealthy families enlarged and elaborated the existing network.49 She notes that these new extensions contrasted sharply with the uniformity of the earlier complexes: more grandiose architectural volumes were obtained by the excavation of the bedrock, with the principle aim of
Gaston, 147-8. Lucrezia Spera, The christianization of space along the via appia: Changing landscape in the suburbs of rome in American Journal of Archaeology, v.107 (2003), 24. 45 Osborne, Roman Catacombs, 279. 46 Ibid, 279. 47 Ibid, 280. 48 Spera, 28. 49 Ibid, 29.
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showing off privileged social status.50 Additionally, alongside the creation of aboveground cemeteries, new roads and secondary lanes were created to reach the funerary complexes.51 The form of these spaces underground also affected the visible layer of the city. Spera additionally notes the rise of a funerary landscape along the via Appia, citing that the Christian cemeteries were the principle feature of the landscape.52 The use of the catacombs during their peak in popularity remained unchanged. As Osborne bluntly states, the citizens of Rome continued to die and to require places of burial outside the walls but the sheer numbers of Christian converts increased the size and actual numbers of catacombs in use.53 The effect of the desire to be buried as close as possible to existing martyr tombs saw the creation of new subterranean levels and an extension of existing galleries. These attempts saw both the creation of planned gallery spaces for the burial of a multitude of people on the same level as the martyrs, like those near the Papal Crypt in Callistus, as well as the addition of levels below and above existing tombs, like those in Domitilla and the Vatican necropolis. V. After Constantine: From the Fall of Rome to Pilgrims and Relics Between the end of the fifth century and beginning of the sixth century, Christians stopped using the catacombs for burial.54 Osborne cites two underlying reasons for this change. First, he notes a shift in Christian burial customs from the catacombs to surface cemeteries and churches and second, one from cemeteries outside the perimeter of the city walls to into the city itself. Osborne attributes this second, more surprising reason not to a mere oversight of ancient law, but rather to the disruption of urban life caused by the Ostrogoth invasion in the 530s and
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Ibid, 30. Ibid, 30. 52 Ibid, 32. 53 Osborne, Roman Catacombs, 280. 54 Ibid, 280.

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the subsequent inaccessibility and destruction of those spaces.55 As church burial became more and more common in the latter half of the sixth century, the catacombs function turned towards supplying remains for the cult of relics. From this point onwards, interest in the martyrs graves as a part of the cult of relics attracted Christians from all parts of Europe. As Rutger points out, the increased volume of pilgrims to these holy sites prompted a new infrastructure, such as catabatica and luminaria, in the catacombs out of necessity.56 Early itineraries for Roman pilgrims, such as the De Locis Sanctis Martyrum, told of the relics contained in the catacombs, reminding pilgrims that in the nearby cemetery of S. Callistus there is the plenary remission of sins, and there are 174,000 martyrs, among which are 18 popes.57 Today, the pilgrims graffiti remains on walls of catacomb, reminding us of the religious fervor of the time. The transition of catacomb ritual also reflected the heightened significance of relics. The catacombs use as cult shrines in particular drew one pope, John III, out from the comforts of the city and into the monuments erected on top of the catacombs. The Liber Pontificalis states that he loved and restored the cemeteries of the holy martyrs, retiring to the Catacomb of Praetextatus and even consecrating bishops there.58 The increasing importance of relics affected the papacys building policy. Instead of reworking the subterranean space, the Church focused upon building aboveground structures that were meant to commemorate the sites underneath. Osborne states, new churches within the walls are few, [...] new construction [] was largely confined to the area outside the walls, where the tombs of the more important saints were enlarged and embellished.59 Many of these new buildings were constructed directly above the catacombs; one example cited by Spera is the
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Ibid, 280-2. Rutger, 79. 57 Gaston, 148. 58 Translation of Liber Pontificallis in Osborne, Roman Catacombs, 284. 59 Osborne, Roman Catacombs, 285.

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sanctuary associated with Pope Zefirinus and martyr Tarsicius that was constructed above the catacomb of Callixtus.60 It is a similar case with the Vatican necropolis; with the construction of Old St. Peters Basilica positioned directly above Peters tomb and the current position of existing basilica above the same shrine, and with the Basilica of Saints Nereus and Achilleus above Domitilla.61 After 750, the catacombs use as places of pilgrimage began to decline, following the translation of the relics from their original sites outside the city wall into Romes churches.62 Pope Paul I in particular performed a large number of these translations, one of which was the transferral of pope Dionysus remains from the Callistus catacomb into the urban church of S. Silvestro.63 The dispersal of the relics to churches inside Rome and across Europe was not without reason. It is presumed that popes moved these relics as a consequence of previous sieges of Rome, citing the further deterioration of sacra cymiteria and the need to protect the relics.64 The quest to protect the relics from invading barbarians and the relic trade were the final factors linked to the decline of the catacombs. Osborne notes that, by the eighth century relics had become important commodities in Western Europe, and the prestige of any new religious foundation was directly proportional to the relics it possessed.65 Although the relics were removed from their original resting places, their origins in the Roman catacombs were not forgotten. It became common practice for churches to list the relics it contained upon plaques, relying on the narrative of a relics journey to bolster the churchs prestige. Osbourne dates the

Spera, 36-7. Della Porta, 111. See Figure 6. 62 Osborne, Roman Catacombs, 287. 63 Ibid, 287. 64 Ibid, 290. 65 Ibid, 291. It is important to also note that the transferal of many relics did not end all interest in the catacombs. As Osborne mentions on page 295, popes Benedict III and Nicholas directed efforts towards the restoration of ruined catacombs and the foundation of a monastery at St. Sebastian, which remained an integral site through the Middle Ages.
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earliest example of this narrative practice to 755 in S. Angelo and additionally cites the use of plaques placed by Paul I in St. Peters.66 VI. Conclusion The tombs of early Christian martyrs have acted as a central focus in the evolving architecture of the catacombs both above and below ground, forming the bottom layer and program of a palimpsest that has shaped the layout of Romes religious spaces. Beginning in the second century, catacomb burials maintained accordance with Roman law. While it is hard to tell when catacombs first originated due to the intertwined relationship between the first Christian burials and pagan burials, spaces like the Vatican necropolis provide interesting insight into the transition between paganism and Christianity. From Christianitys nascent, martyrs remained a driving force in the evolution of catacomb space and usage. Their tombs initially acted as nuclei for the placement of resting places for other early believers, functioning as the base point for future expansion aboveground as well. When Church building practice turned to the visible landscape, religious monuments continued to reference the martyr tombs that rest beneath them. Pilgrims continued to journey to the catacombs, providing a need for more public infrastructure outside the city walls. The upkeep of these subterranean spaces also directed the Churchs efforts to create larger basilica above ground to mark the landscape, transforming larger roads such as the Via Appia into a Christian funerary space. Even after the fall of the Roman Empire and in the face of invaders, the fervor around relics ensured the Churchs continued attention to protect these tombs and relics. While few relics remain inside the catacombs, the use of plaques ensured that translated relics maintained connections with and informed pilgrims of their original catacombs. Although people finally abandoned the catacombs when the papacy moved to

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Ibid, 291.

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Avignon in the 14th century, due to the plaques listing the origins of relics contained in churches around Europe, the legacy of the catacombs were never truly forgotten.

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Figure 1.

The layering of Rome as described by Alex Marshall. Note that the oldest structures are on the bottom layers of Rome, and more recent structures lie above them until technological advances allowed engineers to dig underneath to install the Vatican parking lot and the Roman subway. From Marshall, 102.

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Figure 2. Rendering of a subterranean gallery lined with horizontal niches. The man standing at the end of the tunnel is a fossore. From De Rossi, 3.

Figure 3. Arcosolium. From De Rossi, 13.

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Figure 4.

Map detailing the location of the Vatican Necropolis (4), Catacomb of St. Callistus (8), Catacomb of Domitilla (10) and Catacomb of St. Sebastian (11). From Pergola, 6.

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Figure 5.

Plan of St. Callistus catacomb. The planned galleries added by Deacon Callistus are labeled F, G, H, I and connect to the Papal Crypt (L) through one transverse gallery. From De Rossi, 409.

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Figure 6.

Reconstruction of the Basilica of Saints Nereus and Achilleus. The apse sits on top of the martyrs tombs and the staircase behind it leads down to the crypt. Picture from Pergola, 29 and facts found on page 30.

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Works Cited Della Porta, Ivana, and Mark Smith, eds. Subterranean Rome. Cologne: Kanemann, 2000. Gaston, Robert W. British Travellers and Scholars in the Roman Catacombs 1450-1900. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 46 (1983): 144-165. Print. Marshall, Alex, and David Emblidge, eds. Beneath the Metropolis: The Secret Lives of Cities.1st Carroll and Graf ed. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2006. Osborne, J. (1985). The Roman Catacombs in the Middle Ages. Papers of the British School at Rome 53, 278-328. Osborne, John. "Catacomb." Grove Art Online. Print. Pergola, Philippe. Christian Rome: Early Christian Rome Catacombs and Basilicas Past and Present. Rome: Vision S.R.L., 2000. Rossi, G. B. d., Northcote, J. S., & Brownlow, W. R. (Eds.). (1879). Roma Sotterranea; or, An Account of the Roman Catacombs especially of the Cemetery of St Callixtus; Comp from the Works of Commendatore De Rossi (New, rewritten and enl. by J. Spencer Norcote and W. R. Brownlow. ed.). London: Longmans Green and co. Rutgers, L.V. Subterranean Rome: In Search of the Roots of Christianity in the Catacombs of the Eternal City. Leuven: Peeters, 2000. Spera, L. (2003). The Christianization of Space along the via Appia : Changing Landscapes in the Suburbs of Rome. American Journal of Archaeology 107, 23-43.