Catacomb of Saint Hermes

Description

It is on three levels and recent studies have found evidence in the subsoil for an ancient above-ground necropolis. Its three major art-historical features are the semi-underground basilica of Sant' Ermete, the medieval oratory and the crypt of Protus and Hyacinth.

Bosio was the first to identify the environment, finding an inscription confirming the basilica's dedication to Hermes. It was built among very ancient earlier structures - some scholars such as Giuseppe Marchi identify these as the nymphaeum of a Roman villa, abandoned early in the 3rd century and converted to house human remains. Here Saint Hermes was buried, with the nyphaeum's crypt converted into a basilica under Pope Damasus I (366–384). It was renovated and restored several times in the following centuries and in the modern era. An apse with a cathedra and a matroneum are all that remain of the basilica, whilst the current roof was built by the Jesuits at the end of the 17th century. From the basilica one can access the underground galleries.

In the medieval era, on the left side of the basilica, a monastic oratory was opened. In 1940 the archaeologist Sandro Carletti discovered a niche with 11th - 12th century frescoes, including a bust of a long-haired bearded Christ with angels, an enthroned Madonna and child with the archangels Gabriel and Raphael and Saints Hermes, John the Evangelist and Benedict.

The burials of Protus and Hyacinth were affected in ancient times by landscapes, forcing Damasus I to rebuild their crypt completely to improve its condition, particularly the pavement. This hid Hyacinth's original niche from view and left Protus' unidentified until in the 19th century Marchi rediscovered an inscription with the words "sepulcrum Proti" (Protus' tomb). Hyacinth's original niche was rediscovered on 21 March 1845, still perfectly closed and conserved with burned bones (probably a sign he was martyred by fire) and gold threads. The marble slab closing the niche was inscribed Dp III septebr Yacinthus martyr - a copy is now on the site, with the original kept in the Pontifical Urban University on the Janiculum.