Thanks to the efforts of the restorers, fragments of frescoes in the Roman catacombs of Domitilla (Catacombe di Domitilla), a unique monument of early Christian art, have become visible again, hidden for centuries.
The catacombs of Domicilla are located under the Roman Basilica of Saints Nereus and Achileus. The total length of their underground galleries, which occupy four tiers, is 12 kilometers. The catacombs of Domicilla, along with the catacombs of St. Callixtus, are the most extensive in Rome. In addition, the catacombs of Domitilla are the best preserved.
They were once part of the burials of the Flavian family. This family also belonged to Domitilla, the granddaughter of the Emperor Vespasian. She married her cousin Titus Flavius Clemens. In 95, her husband became consul. But in the same year her other cousin, Emperor Domitian, executed Titus Flavius and sent Domitilla into exile on the island of Padateria (modern Ventotene) near Naples for some crimes of a religious nature. Dio Cassius informs that “an accusation of atheism was brought against them, according to which many others inclined to Jewish customs were also condemned” (“Roman History” LXVII, 14, translated by A. V. Makhlayuk). Indications that Domitilla converted to Judaism are contained in the Talmud. Christian writers believed that Domitilla and her husband were baptized. She was numbered among the saints of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.
It is believed that it was Domitilla who allowed Christians to be buried in her underground galleries, first members of her family, and then everyone belonging to the Christian community of Rome. The burials in the catacombs of Domitilla date back to the 2nd - 5th centuries. These catacombs are best known for their frescoes. World famous images of Christ and the Apostles, the most ancient drawing of Jesus in the image of the Good Shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders, illustrating the words from the Gospel of John "I am the good shepherd" (10, 11). On other frescoes you can see the prophet Daniel in the den with lions, the Virgin Mary on the throne, the adoration of the Magi, where there are not three, but four of them. Typical early Christian symbols are often found on the frescoes: fish, lambs, pigeons, as well as chrismas - monograms of the Greek letters chi and ro. Christian frescoes side by side with pagan imagesand also with secular scenes.
Jesus as the Good Shepherd
But because of the high humidity in underground rooms, their safety has always caused concern among scientists. Soot, dirt, moss, algae, mold, and calcium carbonate deposits completely covered many areas of the images. In 2014, the cleaning of the frescoes from the catacombs of Domitilla using a laser began. Barbara Mazzei, who led the team of restorers, says that they managed not only to clear many contaminated areas of the already known frescoes, but also to reveal for the first time images that had not previously been visible due to dense layers. “The frequency of the 2mm laser beams can be adjusted to eliminate certain colors - in this case, black solid deposits. We worked millimeter by millimeter to remove the dirt,”she says.
Working in two tombs, restorers found images of biblical subjects, for example, an illustration for the story of how Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Also found is an image of a baker holding a grain measure and a cycle of frescoes showing how grain is transported by ship from Egypt to Rome and how bread is sold in the city.
Two sites have been completely restored. In addition to the “tomb of the bakers”, there is a third century burial chamber decorated with frescoes that include many pagan motives. There are many images of cupids, which were probably used in children's burials. Unfortunately, the frescoes suffered at the hands of medieval marauders. Whole areas of painting have been cut from the walls for sale.
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The restorers also found evidence of a man who discovered the catacombs of Domitilla a thousand years after they were abandoned and forgotten. On one of the walls there is a charcoal inscription "BOSIO".
Jesus with the apostles and the BOSIO inscription
Antonio Bozio was the illegitimate son of the Knight of Malta Giovanni Ottone Bozio, a participant and chronicler of the defense of Malta during the Great Siege of 1565, when the Ottomans tried to take over the island. Antonio was born in 1575 and was raised in Rome by his uncle Giacomo. He adopted the boy and followed his education. At that time, an interest arose in Rome in the city's Christian antiquities. In 1578, the extensive Giordani catacombs were discovered with frescoes and inscriptions in Greek and Latin.
Antonio Bosio heard about this discovery from his father's teachers and friends. His passion for the Roman dungeons did not weaken with age. He entered the catacombs of Domitilla and wrote his name on December 10, 1593, when he was only 17 years old. At the time, he believed that these underground galleries were part of the larger complex of the catacombs of Saint Calixtus. The fact that the catacombs of Domitilla are a separate underground labyrinth was established only in the 19th century by the archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi.
A trip to the catacombs in December 1593 almost ended in the death of Antonio Bosio and his friends accompanying him. They went too far through the branching tunnels and lost their way to the surface. During their wanderings, the torches went out, Bosio later recalled: "I began to fear that I would desecrate the ashes of the holy martyrs with my impudent corpse." But in the end, the researchers were able to get out.
Since then, Bosio studied the catacombs of Rome for 36 years, as well as written sources: the lives of the saints, the works of church historians, the epistles of the Christian bishops of the first centuries in Greek and Latin. As soon as he met indications of possible underground burials, he went to that corner of Rome and tried to find a way into the dungeons. If he found out about an accidental find during construction work, he also rushed to the place of events and, at the risk of his life, descended into unknown underground passages. Today's historians and archaeologists rightly call Bosio “Columbus of the underground New World”, although they regretfully admit that he was far from modern methods of scientific archeology, in particular, he had the unfortunate habit of writing his name on ancient frescoes.