Catacombe Ad Decimum

Discovered beneath a vineyard in 1905, the Ad Decimum catacomb is an early Christian cemetery near Grottaferrata, with galleries cut into the local peperino and tombs spanning the second to fifth centuries.

Why it matters

The cemetery preserves evidence of Christian life in the Roman countryside. Its name recalls the Ad Decimum post station, traditionally placed at the tenth milestone of the Via Latina, and the burial ground served a rural community connected with the road and nearby estates.

What to notice

Two principal galleries with side chambers contain family burial rooms and rock-cut tombs. Frescoes include a Traditio Legis scene, praying figures, the Good Shepherd and Daniel among the lions. Inscriptions and graffiti on marble slabs offer personal traces of the people buried here; one epigram commemorates Marciano and names Ilaro as its maker.

Context and history

The cemetery developed beside the Via Latina from the second century into the fifth. It was rediscovered in 1905 after the ground collapsed during vineyard work. The galleries, burial chambers and painted decoration make the site an important record of a small Christian community outside Rome.