The Rome beneath

Every time someone puts a shovel in the ground in Rome, they have to be careful what they turn over. It’s not spiders they are watching out for, it’s history. Rome is like a rather dry and crumbly torte in this – layer on layer of landscape has built the city up, and now lies hidden beneath in a fascinating subterranean world.

The most famous of course are the catacombs, where the first Christians went to meet and pray in secret, but the hidden places were old even then. Which is why the Christians got away with sneaking off underground to practice their new, forbidden religion without a lot of prying eyes … even 2,000 years ago, Rome had already built layers upon layers over itself.

Members and staff of the Chapter had a chance to discover this for ourselves, when Fr Augusto Matrullo organized and ran a late night tour of the Casa Romane (Roman Houses) which are wonderfully preserved many metres beneath the Basilica of San Giovanni e Paolo.

(I have to apologise for the quality of photos in this post. I've dropped my little camera a couple of times and the zoom has now completely gone. Also, if I move it even a fraction when I take the shot, it gets all whooshy round the edges, especially at night. I cannot imagine how those old time photographers with the two minute exposure glass slides handled it! Must have had forearms of steel.)

Using only one small flashlight and a lot of caution, we made our way out of the Aula door and down the stairs to an area under some large trees where the very obvious remains of an old cobblestone pathway remains. There is a strong smell of freshly dug earth – that musty, dank richness that lingers in the air after soil which has remained in the dark for a long time is unearthed. On the right as we walked down a set of stairs is a deep hole, disappearing into the darkness, where the footings and foundations of old buildings can be made out.

We go into the museum through the private entrance and once inside the humidity hits like a wet cloth, despite the year round climate control. Humidity is the great enemy of the fine work such as paintings, frescoes and mosaics in these ancient places, as well as causing deterioration to the mortar and stone itself.

Fr Matrullo is a knowledgable and entertaining guide, in which he is very ably assisted by Fr Arthur Carrillo, who translates from the Italian into English, using all his considerable skills as a speaker to provide the background information on the history, tragedy and triumph of the site. The formal museum section houses many wonderful objects, including a reminder that those ancient people were just exactly like us ... I especially love the pottery bowls with patterns that have stood the test of time - I'm sure we've all seen one or two or these!

Essentially, we learn, a section of the site is part of an actual street from the days of Imperial Rome. The photo at right is looking down from the top level, as we begin our descent - if you put your mouse cursor right in the centre of the picture you will notice a dark object and a lighter object. They are quite large old pots. At the left you will see an arch, which is very high up close. That should give some idea of the depth of the excavation.

Walking through the houses, we can see where the floor tiles used inside the house gives way to the rough cobbles of a street and then, through another arch, to a different style and colour of interior tile as we enter a separate dwelling.

Obviously the Romans who lived here were proud of their homes – attractive carvings and paintings decorate the walls, with scenes from legend and nature alongside geometric designs typical of the Roman area and still popular today.

Other walls show the places where older, pagan designs were cemented over and Christian emblems and pictures were painted instead. At right is a photo of a wall in what was one of the public rooms of the house, perhaps a dining room. It is obviously fairly 'pagan', featuring a depiction of semi-clothed people enjoying the sensual life - including food, drink and slaves. It had been covered over with plaster, probably by the Christian owners who would have preferred a scene depicting saints or their own sacred symbols.

There are also places where the Christian works are obviously the primary art works of the room and house, such as in the photo at right. Because of the various images such as goats with cornucopias for tails, etc, this room looks at first sight very pagan, however early Christians would immediately have recognised the image of the man with his arms outstretched as a Christ-figure. The other images are also symbolic.

Interestingly, the dominant colours are also those which are most prominent in today’s Roman streetscapes – there is a particular maroon-red apparently very popular 2,000 years ago which is still widely used today!

Altogether the site has some 20 rooms, in several houses of different historical periods. Recent digging seems to indicate there may be more to be found, but this is yet to be confirmed.

Built on top of some even older houses, the principal houses of the site are those of the Martyrs John and Paul, who were murdered during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363). Their story is a sad one … John and Paul were officers at the court of Constantine (312-37), the first Christian Emperor. They acquired a reputation for honesty and good dealings and by the time of the reign of Julian, they were widely admired, with a large popular following.

Like all Emperors, Julian was in thrall to the Roman people and in order to avoid unrest he gave out that John and Paul had gone on a holiday, and would be away a long time. He hoped the populace would soon forget the two, in their embrace of new heroes.

However, the murder of the two Saints had been witnessed, and when Julian discovered that the cousin of one of the men had seen the murder, the Emperor did not hesitate – he killed the whole family to prevent his crime becoming known. Today, a plaque in the Basilica marks the exact spot where, several storeys and almost 2,000 years ago, the saints met their tragic end.

Word DID get out though, and there are historical records which show that John and Paul were widely mourned.

Their houses, where they had been buried and where so much tragedy had taken place, were built over when a Roman senator, Pammacchii, began building of the basilica of Ss Giovanni e Paolo in the fifth century.

It was not until Bro Germano, a Passionist brother, uncovered traces of the ancient buildings and began explorations in 1887, that the hidden history of the Case Romane once more emerged into the light of day. Since that time, a number of Passionists, including Fr Matrullo have devoted a great deal of time and energy to the practical matters of excavation and preservation, but also to the 'other' side - dealing with government agencies, fund raising and publicising the site for the interest and education of people interested in the history of Rome.

Some years ago, the Passionists gave over control of the site Ministry of the Interior, but they maintain a great interest in the site and its preservation.

Fr Matrullo has been involved in promoting the preservation of the site, in informing the public of the site through various publications and also appearing in a television show, and he is also a keen, self taught archeologist who enjoys the actual ‘hands on work’ of the profession.

This fantastic site, with its complex layers and wonderful mixture of eras and experiences is a kind of metaphor for Rome itself, where so much of the present is built upon the multitude of layers of the past, and yet continues to enthrall, astound and educate in often surprising ways.

The site is open most days, but never between 1 pm and 3 pm (riposo), which can be kind of frustrating if you've walked there! The regular entrance is via the Clivio di Scauro*, the street which turns into the Piazza Ss Giovanni e paolo, and the Via Paolo della Croce.

It costs about six Euros to go in and it's really worth it. They also have a really nice gift and souvenir shop with some very classy and 'different' gifts at surprisingly reasonable prices! http://www.caseromane.it/en/index_en.html

* The Clivio di Scauro (which apparently means 'the cut through the scauro') is known to have existed from the earliest days of Roman road building. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're still using the same road surface :-)