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The Catacomb of Generosa is a catacomb of Rome (Italy), located in Via delle Catacombe di Generosa, close to a big bight of river Tiber on the right bank, in the Portuense quarter.
The name of the catacomb, as for most of Roman catacombs, derives from the name of the founder or patron of the plot of land on which the burial hypogeum complex arose. [1] The catacomb was also known with the suffix “ad sextum Philippi” (or “super Philippi”), from the former name of the area where the catacomb now lies: it indicated the sixth mile of former Via Campana. “Philippus” probably refers to a rich laird in the area.
The Catacomb of Generosa is part of an archeological complex, rich of remains not just Christian, but also pagan. In fact, on the upper land a sacred precinct (known as the sacred wood at Magliana) has been found: it includes the ancient pagan college of the Arval Brethres , a pagan priestly association, whose origins date back to republican Rome, consecrated to the worship of Goddess Dia, whose temple has been identified into the same precinct: Arval Brethres recorded their religious and cultural life on marble plates (the Acta fratrium Arvalium), many of which have come to us thanks to their reuse as sheets for the paving of the Basilica of Generosa. The catacomb is situated inside a hill and occupies a single level. The former entrance of the catacomb, just like other Roman catacombs, was inside a basilica, built under Pope Damasus I in the second half of 4th century, whose remains have been discovered by Giovanni Battista de Rossi in the 19th century. In the apse a fenestella confessionis (little window for confession) allowed to see the main place of worship, while a side door gave access to the catacomb.
The present entrance of the catacomb has been recently built and it is made of a tiny brick structure closed by an iron door.
According to the tradition, the catacomb first served as burial place for martyrs Simplicius and Faustinus, killed in 303 under Diocletian. The hypogeum graveyard served mainly for the entombment of the farmers of the surroundings and therefore it shows a sober and poor style. Near 382 Pope Damasus built the semi-hypogeum basilica and the catacomb ceased being a graveyard and became a place of worship of the martyrs there buried. In 682 Pope Leo II moved the relics of the martyrs of Generosa in the church of Santa Bibiana on the Esquiline Hill: the catacomb was thereby gradually abandoned and its location was forgotten.
The discovery, in the 19th century, of marble inscriptions inspired the interest of the archaeologist Giovanni de Rossi, who in 1868 discovered the remains of the basilica and soon after the Catacomb of Generosa. [2] The catacomb was restored in the 1930s by Enrico Josi. Further archaeological campaigns were carried out by the Ecole Française of Rome between 1980 and 1986: they allowed to ascertain the exact dimension of the above-ground basilica, that had three naves shared by pilasters.
The martyrs memorialized into the Catacomb of Generosa are four, nowadays usually called the portuenses saint martyrs: Simplicius, Faustinus, Beatrix and Rufinianus. Of the last one absolutely nothing is known. The high-medieval passio tells that the brothers Simplicius and Faustinus died firstly, killed and thrown into the Tiber near Tiber Island; the stream would have trailed their bodies up to the bight of Tiber “iuxta locum qui appellatur sextus Philippi” ("close to a place that is called the Sixth of Philippus"), where they would have beached; they were picked up by their sister Beatrix and placed into the Catacomb of Generosa. Later the same Beatrix was martyrized and buried next to her brothers.
The most important locus of the entire catacomb is the martyrs' crypt, at the back of the apse of the external basilica. It hosted a fresco with Byzantine features, called Coronatio Martyrum ("Coronation of Martyrs"), dating to the sixth century. It portrays five figures: the central one is Christ, handing the crown of martyrdom to Simplicius, with Beatrix at his side; to the left of Christ are Faustinus, bearing the palm of martyrdom in his hand, and Rufinianus. The fresco was seriously damaged when Giovanni Battista de Rossi, in the nineteenth century, attempted to remove it; it again deteriorated when it was transferred to canvas; it was restored in 1983.
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Pope Damasus I was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies in the church and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs.
Pope Marcellus I was the bishop of Rome from May or June 308 to his death. He succeeded Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Maxentius, he was banished from Rome in 309, on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under the recent persecution. He died the same year, being succeeded by Eusebius. His relics are under the altar of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. His third-class feast day is kept on 16 January.
Pope Callixtus I, also called Callistus I, was the bishop of Rome from c. 218 to his death c. 222 or 223. He lived during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. Eusebius and the Liberian catalogue gave him five years of episcopate (217–222). In 217, when Callixtus followed Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, he started to admit into the church converts from sects or schisms. He was martyred for his Christian faith and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church.
The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around Rome, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, Jews and also adherents of a variety of pagan Roman religions were buried in catacombs, beginning in the 2nd century AD, occasioned by the ancient Roman ban on burials within a city, and also as a response to overcrowding and shortage of land. The most extensive and perhaps the best known is the Christian Catacomb of Callixtus located near the Park of the Caffarella, but there are other sites, both Christian and not, scattered around the city, some of which are now engulfed in the modern urban sprawl.
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San Sebastiano fuori le mura, or San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas, is a basilica in Rome, central Italy. Up to the Great Jubilee of 2000, San Sebastiano was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, and many pilgrims still favor the traditional list.
Saints Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix were a group of Christian martyrs who died in Rome during the Diocletian persecution.
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Saint Petronilla is an early Christian saint. She was venerated as a virgin martyr by the Catholic Church. She died in Rome at the end of 1st century, or possibly in the 3rd century.
Felicitas of Rome, also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November. However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 10 July. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates their martyrdom on 25 January.
The Catacomb of Priscilla is an archaeological site on the Via Salaria in Rome, Italy, situated in what was a quarry in Roman times. This quarry was used for Christian burials from the late 2nd century through the 4th century. This catacomb, according to tradition, is named after the wife of the Consul Manius Acilius Glabrio; he is said to have become a Christian and was killed on the orders of Domitian. Some of the walls and ceilings display fine decorations illustrating Biblical scenes.
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