Museo delle Catacombe di Generosa

Steada too tight.

It could be advertised and kept better.

Too bad that closed, open only occasionally Saturday.

Very interesting catacombs even if a lot has been looted

Few people know that the area between Magliana and Portuense is an archaeological site. The catacombs of the Portuense martyrs are now the object of interest by the municipality and the place has recently been cleaned up. To visit them contact the Generosa Catacombs Committee and make an appointment.

In the past these catacombs were not protected from vandalism. They are now closed, but there is very little inside to admire.

The catacomb is located inside a hill, and develops on one level only. The ancient entrance of the catacomb, as for other Roman catacombs, was closed by a basilica. The current entrance to the catacomb is of recent construction, and consists of a small brick structure closed by an iron door. The catacomb was born, according to tradition, for the burial of the martyrs Simplicius and Faustino, killed in 303 during the empire of Diocletian. The underground cemetery was mostly used for the burial of the farmers of the surrounding area, and therefore reveals a sober and poor style. Around 382 Pope Damasus had the semi-hypogean basilica built and the catacomb ceased to be a cemetery and became a place of worship for the martyrs buried there. In 682 Pope Leo II had the relics of the martyrs of Generosa transferred to the church of Santa Bibiana all'Esquilino: the catacomb was thus gradually abandoned and its location fell into oblivion. The discovery, in the nineteenth century, of marble inscriptions aroused the interest of the archaeologist Giovanni de Rossi, who in 1868 discovered the remains of the basilica and shortly after the catacomb of Generosa. Restoration work on the catacomb. Further excavation campaigns were carried out by the Ecole Française of Rome between 1980 and 1986, which made it possible to establish the exact size of the basilica of the above ground, which had three naves divided by pillars. There are four martyrs remembered in the catacomb of Generosa, today commonly called the holy martyrs of Portuense: Simplicio, Faustino, Viatrice (or Beatrice) and Rufiniano.