Catacombs of Villa San Faustino

A maze of underground passages still preserving the memory of many burials and the charm of ancient rites.
Hidden among wheat fields and farmhouses are the Christian Catacombs of Villa San Faustino, probably built by the Christian community of Vicus Martis Tudertium, which developed very early and was undoubtedly very numerous (over 300 burials have been identified in the Catacomb). Since 1948, the name of the catacombs has been linked to the memory of Saint Faustinus, as that was the year when his bones were found in the eponymous abbey, not far from here. The catacombs were partly buried after the abandonment of this section of the Flaminia and remained unknown until the 17th century. In 1940 excavation work finally began to recover the cemetery, interrupted only by the Second World War, when the catacomb was used as an air-raid shelter by the inhabitants of the area. The catacomb is not as large as the better-known Christian catacombs in Rome, but consists of a maze of tunnels with niches carved into the stone, still perfectly preserved. There are numerous graffiti with the symbols of the cross, the palm and the fish, linked to the figure of Christ. An interesting sarcophagus carved in the shape of a bull has led to the hypothesis that it was a place dedicated to the cult of Mithras, later adapted to a Christian cemetery. Few archaeological artefacts have been found: the absence of inscriptions is noticeable, quite liklely due to the illiteracy of the inhabitants, since this is a country hypogeum. The artefacts found, crudely-made oil lamps, fragments of pottery and coins, date from the same period as those found in the catacomb, thus testifying to the contemporaneity of the hypogeum cemetery and the basilica above it.
The catacomb was obviously forgotten when this section of the consular road lost its importance, and was gradually buried by the ruinous floods of the Naja. On the hill above the catacomb are the remains of the basement of a pagan temple built of large square blocks, on which a modern farmhouse stands. In the 13th century, the site is documented as a fortress, with a church dedicated to Sant’Angelo, belonging to the noble Monticastri family, from which Friar Gian Bernardino Monticastri descended and who, according to some historical sources, took part in Christopher Columbus’ first voyage of discovery to the New World.