Archaeology Magazine - January/February 2024 - 59

others from continuA
dilapidated Temple of Saturn is one of a number of
structures built at Villa Torlonia during the nineteenth
century that were intended to mimic ancient ruins.
with colorful stained-glass windows.
The entrance to the catacomb is
located near the western edge of the
estate, between two former stables
that are now part of the library of the
National Academy of Sciences. A
fenced-off staircase shaded by trees
leads underground. The steps narrow
as they approach the dark corridors,
which are around three feet wide.
The catacomb's passageways are
lined with nearly 4,000 shelves carved
into the walls to hold the dead. Many
of the names of the deceased are still
visible, generally painted on or carved
into stucco used to seal the graves,
along with blessings to rest in peace
and other inscriptions. In a few places,
the catacomb's narrow passageways
open into atriums where colorful
frescoes decorate the vaulted ceilings
and many of the arched recesses. In
addition to menorahs, these frescoes
feature Jewish motifs such as a holy ark
to house Torah scrolls; shofars, ram'shorn
trumpets blown on religious holidays;
and lulavs, palm branches waved
during the festival of Sukkot, which
celebrates the harvest season. There are
also geometric designs and illustrations
of peacocks, roosters, flowers, and fruit
trees, possibly meant to depict paradise.
Studying the site has not been easy.
Fear of collapse prevented Leon and
archaeology.org
ing their exploration
after just a few
years. Then, in 1925,
Torlonia offered the
Fascist leader Benito
Mussolini, who had
recently forced Italy's
king out of power,
use of the property as
his official residence.
Mussolini moved
into the Casino Nobile
with his family,
where they would
stay for the next 18
years, and made the
estate off-limits to archaeologists. Torlonia
himself relocated to the Casina
delle Civette, the House of the Owls,
perhaps the property's oddest structure.
It had originally been built as a Swiss
chalet, but Torlonia made multiple
additions in a hodgepodge of styles,
many incorporating owl motifs. During
Mussolini's time at the luxurious
estate, he played tennis, practiced horse
jumping, honed his fencing skills, and
hosted lavish events such as a breakfast
following the wedding of his daughter
Edda. In 1938, Mussolini announced
restrictive measures against Jews,
including banning them from teaching
in public schools, marrying nonJews,
serving in the armed services,
and working in particular sectors, such
as journalism. Mussolini's government
was well aware that a Jewish catacomb
dating back 1,800 years sat below his
palatial residence and heavily guarded
its entrances, fearing it could provide a
route into the estate.
Allied troops occupied the property
for several years after the end of World
War II, and archaeologists didn't
return to the catacomb until the 1970s.
Over the following two decades,
various teams carried out surveys and
work to stabilize the site, noting new
findings, such as several shafts that had
been designed to let in fresh air, more
inscriptions, and additional evidence of
the complex's date. When the Torlonia
property became a city park, control
over its catacomb passed from the Vatican,
which had overseen all of Rome's
catacombs, to the Italian government.
Beginning in 2018, the team from
the Archaeological Superintendency
of Rome thoroughly surveyed the
catacomb, repaired leaks that were
damaging frescoes, shored up the passageways,
and collaborated with a
religious conservation project. Under
rabbinic guidance and out of respect
for the significance the site holds for
the religious and cultural identity of
the Jewish people, conservators used
a clay mixture similar to the original
to seal off more than 3,000 graves that
had been broken open over the years.
They also collected scattered skeletal
remains found in the catacomb's
passageways and buried them in a
common grave. Although researchers
aren't able to study the bones of
the dead, the Villa Torlonia catacomb
continues to offer valuable historical
insight into the people who made up
Rome's early Jewish community.
J
ews first came to Rome in the
second century b.c., some as
slaves captured in wars, and some
as immigrants. This makes Rome one
of the two earliest destinations of the
Jewish diaspora in Europe; Jews arrived
in Greece around the same time, or
possibly about a century earlier. " Rome
was seen as a place that was stable,
where you could build a community, "
says historian Samuele Rocca of Ariel
University. Jews attended public
assemblies and took part in Roman
politics, according to the first-century
b.c. writer Cicero, though he took a
negative view of their participation.
First under Julius Caesar and then
under the emperor Augustus (reigned
27 b.c.-a.d. 14), who greatly
expanded the empire, Rome's Jewish
communities were considered legal
59
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Archaeology Magazine - January/February 2024

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