EARLY CHRISTIAN PAINTER, Italian
(active in late 4th century in Rome)

Chamber of the millers

380-400
Fresco
Catacombs of Domitilla, Rome

The Catacombs of Domitilla on Via Ardeatina, as we know them, are spread over 17 kilometres of underground caves, some of which are inaccessible. They are laid out on four levels - one on top of another. We know from inscriptions that the land originally belonged to Flavia Domitilla. She was a noblewoman - the Emperor Vespasian was her grandfather and Domitian was her uncle.

The catacomb was discovered in 1593 by the first modern explorer of Christian cemeteries, Antonio Bosio. At that time, Bosio believed he was in a part of the vast catacomb of St Calixtus. It was only in the 19th century that Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894), founder of Christian archeology, understood this was really the catacomb of St Domitilla and the sanctuary of the martyrs Nereus and Achilleus.

The chamber of the millers in the catacombs of Domitilla has murals from the late 4th century. The apse is decorated with an image of the Good Shepherd surrounded by depictions of the seasons. The inscription above the pedestal contains information on the activities of the millers, as well as those of the surveyors.




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