Catacomb of San Pancrazio
| Catacomba di San Pancrazio | |
 | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′06″N 12°27′14″E / 41.885°N 12.454°ECoordinates: 41°53′06″N 12°27′14″E / 41.885°N 12.454°E |
| Type | Catacomb |
| History | |
| Periods | Early Christian |
| Site notes | |
| Management | Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | www.sanpancrazio.org |
The Catacomb of San Pancrazio (also called of Ottavilla) is a catacomb of Rome (Italy), located in the Via Aurelia, within the modern Quartiere Gianicolense.
The martyrs
The catacomb is especially renown for the most famous martyr buried in it, Pancras from Phrygia, who came to Rome together with his uncle Dionysus after his parents' death and was decapitated in 304 after refusing to sacrifice to the gods. His body was abandoned on the Via Aurelia and was picked up by a Christian matrona, Ottavilla, who buried him in the closest graveyard, that she probably owned. The cult of St. Pancras highly spread during the Middle Ages, so much so that the catacomb bearing his name was one of the few in Rome that could always be visited by the pilgrims. The first notice about the martyrdom of Pancras comes from the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, that sets the date of the death at 12 May.
The ancient sources, particularly the Medieval itineraries for pilgrims, mention other martyrs buried within the catacomb: Artemy, Paulinus, Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope and Charity. The resting place of the last four martyrs can probably be identified with the so-called cubicle of St. Sophia.
History
Between the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 5th, Pope Symmachus built above the catacomb a basilica consecrated to the martyr and a thermal edifice. In 594 Gregory the Great provided the basilica with a cloister. In 625 Pope Honorius I rebuilt the basilica, with three naves.
As mentioned above, San Pancrazio is one of the few catacombs in Rome whose track has not been completely lost during the centuries, even if it has often been confused with other catacombs rising along the Via Aurelia. Antonio Bosio thoroughly studied the cemetery, but he confused it with the cemetery of Calepodius; the two catacombs were distinguished by Giovanni Battista de Rossi in the 19th century.
Excavations carried out at the beginning of the 1930s under the floor of the Basilica of San Pancrazio led to the discovery of a Roman street that cut in two diagonally the church; they also brought to light some mausolea and ground graves, both inside the basilica and in its square, such demonstrating that the hypogeous cemetery also included an extended funerary area on the topsoil.
Topography and description
The catacomb has come down to us in not perfect conditions: the tunnels are mostly destroyed and therefore the visit is very short.
The hypogeous cemerety can be divided into three main regions.
The first region is placed below the left transept of the basilica and behind the apse and its access is still the former entrance, within the left nave. This region was explored in the first half of the 20th century by Father Fusciardi.
In the right nave, a trapdoor gives access to the second region, placed below the square in front of the basilica. In this region is it possible to visit:
- the cubicle of Botrys, from the name of the decedent buried in it: the peculiarity of this grave is that, on his headstone, Botrys declares himself as a christianós, an unusual expression in the Christian graveyards;
- the cubicle of Saint Felix, dating back to the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th century, decorated with a linear red style and elements referring to the sea (ships and fishes);
- the cubicle of Saint Sophia, housing a white-plastered arcosolium with four graves, that are believed to be the martyr Sophia and her three daughters'.
Finally, the third region is placed below the cloister. Within it there are widespread constantinian christograms, which lead the researchers to believe that this part of the hypogaeus cemetery has been built in the 4th century.
Bibliography
- De Santis L. - Biamonte G., Le catacombe di Roma, Newton & Compton Editori, Rome 1997, pp. 128–132
- Cecchelli M., San Pancrazio, Rome, Marietti 1972
- Verrando G. N., Le numerose recensioni della passio Pancratii, in "Vetera Christianorum" 19 (1982) 105-129
- Nestori A., La basilica di S. Pancrazio in Roma, in Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana 36 (1960) 213-248