Description of the attraction
The Catacombs of San Giovanni are ancient catacombs in Syracuse dating from the 4th-6th centuries AD. In the late 19th - early 20th century, they were thoroughly studied by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi, one of the prominent researchers of the prehistoric heritage of Italy. Today they are the only catacombs in Syracuse open to the public, making them one of the most popular tourist attractions.
Of all the catacombs that exist in Syracuse, it is the San Giovanni catacombs that are the latest - they served as a cemetery for the local Christian community in the 4-6 centuries AD, when the persecution of Jesus' followers had already stopped. Perhaps that is why they have a clear plan and are skillfully decorated - their creators did not need to hide. It has not yet been established whether any saint was buried here. And the crypt with the ashes of the first bishop of Syracuse Marcian, now part of the museum complex "Catacombs of San Giovanni", was originally located separately from the cemetery and only recently became part of it. In this crypt, you can see several frescoes depicting the Madonna and Child with various saints, executed during the Byzantine era and up to the 17th century.
The name of the catacombs comes from the name of the Church of St. John the Evangelist (San Giovanni in Italian), built in the Norman era over the crypt of St. Marcian. The church was originally made in Romanesque style, then Gothic elements were added, but during the earthquake of 1693 it was destroyed.
Despite the fact that the catacombs have been abandoned since the 6th century, they were known about. At the end of the 19th century, archaeologist Saverio Cavallari discovered a perfectly preserved 5th century sarcophagus here, which was named the sarcophagus of Adelphia. It was after this that a detailed study of the early Christian cemetery began, which, as mentioned above, was carried out by Paolo Orsi. During the Second World War, during air raids, the inhabitants of Syracuse took refuge in the dungeons of the catacombs. Today, the ruins of the Church of San Giovanni, and the crypt of San Marciano, and the catacombs are part of a single museum complex and are open to tourists.
Since the catacombs were created on the site of an ancient aqueduct, they have a clear plan - a wide central gallery with several secondary tunnels and circular rooms called rotundas. A feature of the catacombs of San Giovanni is the absence of family burials in the form of cubicles - they are replaced by large arcosols. The latter are a deep arch, under which up to 20 bodies rest. Other types of burials include loculi in the form of quadrangular depressions in the walls, burials in the floor where poor members of the community are buried, and sarcophagi.
