Rome, Italy, Jun 5, 2017 / 01:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Adorning the crypts hidden among Rome’s catacombs are frescoes which reveal 1,600 year-old history, as well as the life of early Christians, which are regaining vividness through new technology.
The paintings had been masked by a veil of algae and calcium deposits, and blackened by the smoke of oil lamps until lasers were used to strip the paintings of centuries of grime without damaging their integrity.
“Until recently, we weren’t able to carry out this sort of restoration – if we had done it manually we would have risked destroying the frescoes,” said the head of the restoration project, Barbara Mazzei, in a comment to The Telegraph May 30.
“When we started work, you couldn’t see anything – it was totally black. Different wavelengths and chromatic selection enabled us to burn away the black disfiguration without touching the colors beneath.”
About a dozen crypts out of the 70 buried in the Catacombs of St Domitilla have been restored so far. The underground labyrinth extends 10 miles, and is decorated with both Christian and pagan images which demonstrate the process of conversion from Roman paganism to Christianity. The frescoes were painted around the year 360.
“It’s a fusion of older pagan symbols with new Christian images. The family had only recently converted to Christianity,” said Mazzei.
The superintendent of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, Fabrizio Bisconti, said wealthier Romans were among the last to convert to Christianity.
Shortly before the frescoes were painted, Christians were hunted and killed – including Saints Nerius and Achilleus, whose basilica sits above the crypts and is the entrance to the catacombs.
These two Roman soldiers of the imperial guard were martyred for confessing their faith. They were victims to the military persecutions conducted by the Emperor Diocletian at the very beginning of the fourth century – about 60 years before the frescoes were painted.
Article Archive
Catacomb frescoes in Rome restored using lasers
Related Articles • More Articles
Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr. / Credit: Archdiocese of CincinnatiCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).Archbishop of Cincinnati Dennis Schnurr has been diagnosed with cancer, the archdiocese revealed this week, with the prelate set to begin preparing for chemotherapy treatment this week. An archdiocesan spokesman told CNA on Wednesday morning that on Friday the archbishop "received a post-operation diagnosis of stage 3 small bowel cancer." "His doctor noted that, generally speaking, the archbishop's health is excellent, and that is certainly a source of optimism for the success of the treatment," the archdiocese said. "The treatment plan includes a regimen of chemotherapy over the next six months, preparation for which will begin this week," the statement continued. "We ask all Catholics and people of goodwill to please keep Archbishop Schnurr in their prayers," the archdiocese added. Schnurr was installed as the Cincinnati arc...
Father Ricardo Mata. / Credit: Garland Police DepartmentCNA Staff, May 8, 2024 / 14:27 pm (CNA).Police in Texas this week announced the arrest of a priest with the Diocese of Dallas over allegations of inappropriate contact with two minors. The Garland Police Department said on its Facebook page that officers had arrested Father Ricardo Mata on Monday "on two counts of indecency with a child, a second-degree felony.""The allegations are based on reports of inappropriate contact with two juvenile victims, which occurred during a visit to a residence in Garland," the police said. Investigators are in contact with the Diocese of Dallas, the police said. Mata's bonds were set at $75,000 and $100,000, the police department said. In a Tuesday statement on its website, meanwhile, the Diocese of Dallas said that it had been "recently made aware of an allegation by a juvenile girl of inappropriate touching involving a priest.""Upon learning of the allegation last week, di...
Pope Benedict XVI on April 21, 2007, in Vigevano, Italy. / Credit: miqu77/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:07 am (CNA).The man arrested for the theft of a pectoral cross bequeathed by the late Pope Benedict XVI to a parish in his native Bavaria is now facing time behind bars.According to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, the Traunstein district court on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old Czech citizen to two years and six months in prison.The perpetrator, whom authorities described as a serial thief with a history of crimes across several European countries, left traces at the crime scene that led to his identification and arrest.However, local media reported that the cross is still missing, and the verdict may yet be appealed.Pope Benedict XVI bequeathed a pectoral cross to St. Oswald's Church in the city of Traunstein in Bavaria after his retirement in 2013. The cross was stolen June 19, 2023, from the church. Credit: Bavarian Police/CNA DeutschThe court ...