June 11

Today we ventured out of the central part of Rome and visited the Catacomb di San Callisto. We took the metro first and then got on bus 118 to get to San Callisto. Once we got there, we walked to buy the tickets, and sat outside and waited for our tour. It was much colder today than the previous days, and not many of us were prepared so we were all pretty cold! As we begin our tour, the tour guide first takes us to a board outside the catacomb and explains the six christian symbols and other facts about the catacombs, many of which we already knew because of our first catacomb visit. The six christian symbols are an anchor, a dove, the good shepherd, a fish, and the orante. San Callisto was different than the catacomb we had previously seen because there were actual places for worship within this catacomb. "Tunnels and galleries on four levels is a maze of niches still open or walled custom made and designed for a simple burial, without cash but only in a sheet, sarcophagi and crypts, cubicles, epitaphs and carvings, the remains of oil lamps and vases containing perfumes. During the visit falls only on the second floor, undoubtedly the most interesting from an archaeological point of view. Now we find the copy of a statue of the fourth century preserved in the Vatican Museum, depicting the Good Shepherd, a symbol of Christ’s love. Among the other images, belonging to the vast symbolism devised by Christians during the persecution, when their religion was declared a “a strange religion” with the decree of 35 senators.You can see the Crypt of the Popes where the faithful descended on a pilgrimage to honor the martyrs. Continuing on, you can see the Crypt of St Cecilia where to place the coffin containing the body of the patron saint of music, now housed in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, there is a copy of a famous sculpture of 1599, the Cubicles of the Sacraments, five small rooms where you retain some of the oldest frescoes of Christian era, representing precisely the most important sacraments in the Christian faith: baptism and the ‘ Eucharist. Crypt of St. Eusebius, smaller but decorated with marble slabs on which are three arches, one of which contained the tomb of the saint." (http://www.hoteldesartistes.com/rome-travel-guide/2010/11/the-san-callisto-catacombs/)

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