Vatican reopens a restored Old Roman Pagan Tomb under St. Peter's Basilica
Pastor Dale Morgan
Vatican reopens a restored Old Roman Pagan Tomb under St. Peter's Basilica*
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican unveiled the largest and most luxurious
of the old Roman pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter's
Basilica on Tuesday, after nearly a year of restoration work.
The Valeri Mausoleum was built by a family of former slaves at the
beginning of the second half of the second century, during the reign of
Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
It is one of 22 pagan tombs in the grottoes under the basilica. The new
tomb was shown to media on Tuesday, and tourists can have a guided tour
of the grottoes by appointment.
The mausoleum is enclosed by glass and being monitored for temperature
and humidity to help preserve it.
The once open-air pagan burial grounds were covered up by Emperor
Constantine, a supposed convert to Christianity, in the fourth century.
The Valeri tomb, made up of several rooms and niches.
"This restoration takes us straight to the font of the Catholic Church,"
said Cardinal Angelo Comastri, head of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the
office which for 500 years has been in charge of the running and upkeep
of St. Peter's Basilica.
The Valeri mausoleum was built by a family of former slaves who, once
freed, amassed a vast fortune.
It is known as a particularly fine example of the stucco work popular at
the time, for the bas reliefs and statues that adorned the mausoleum.
The tomb tells the history of the family, particularly in the bas
reliefs of the head of a girl and a boy who were children in the Caius
Valerius Herma family. The children died young, possibly from plague.
Such stuccoed objects as a quill pen and a skein of yarn tell the tale
of daily life in the Valeri family. Reliefs of major gods and other
pagan figures attest to their strong religious belief.
Several charcoal 'graffiti' of designs and Latin inscriptions were left
untouched to allow for further research. Scholars think the inscriptions
might indicate Peter's tomb.
In the guided tours, groups of 15 or fewer can see the grottoes. About
50,000 people visit the Vatican underground annually.