Catacomb of Priscilla

Beneath the Via Salaria, on the northern side of Rome, lies one of the richest of the city's early Christian cemeteries. The Catacomb of Priscilla was dug from an ancient quarry and grew into many kilometres of galleries on two levels, used for burials from the late second century into the fourth. In antiquity it was called the "Queen of the Catacombs" for the number of martyrs laid here, and the popes Marcellinus and Marcellus I were among those buried in it. Its name is traditionally linked to a Priscilla of the senatorial Acilii Glabriones family, whose name has been found in the underground rooms, though the question of who she was remains open.

What draws people underground is the painting. In the so-called Greek Chapel, a small square chamber decorated in the third century, scenes from the Old and New Testaments cover the walls, among them the scene known as the Fractio Panis, the breaking of bread. Close by is a faded image of a woman holding a child beside a standing figure: it is generally read as the Madonna and Child with the prophet Isaiah, and is counted among the oldest known images of Mary, dating from the early third century. There is also an early image of the Good Shepherd, scenes of the three youths in the fiery furnace and of the raising of Lazarus.

The cubiculum of the Velata is perhaps the most moving room: three images of the same woman, shown praying with raised arms in the orans pose and in two further scenes whose meaning scholars still debate. Here and elsewhere the catacomb has become important for studying how early Christian women were represented, from inscriptions honouring widows to figures in the frescoes that may be women. The atmosphere is quiet and close: narrow corridors lined with empty loculi, the rock the colour of old bread, and then a chamber opening with colour on its walls.

Getting there

The entrance is at Via Salaria 430, in the northern part of Rome, about 3.4 km from the Esquilino district near the central railway station. Ciampino Airport (CIA) is about 16 km away. The catacomb is reached by city bus along the Via Salaria or by taxi.