Among the early Christian catacombs in northern Rome, beyond the walls of the ancient city, are those of the Sant’Agnese fuori le mura complex. It is here along the via Nomentana that St Agnes of Rome is said to have been buried after her martyrdom in the early 4th century AD, and where a basilica dedicated to her was later built by Pope Honorius I (625-638).
Another female figure is associated with this site too – Constantina, the daughter of the emperor Constantine. A large circular structure was added along the southern side of an older, now ruined 4th-century basilica at the site; it would come to house the porphyry sarcophagus of Constantina, who died in Bithynia in AD 354.
The mausoleum, now known as Santa Costanza, still stands and is still decorated with many of its rich 4th-century mosaics, important examples of early Christian art. Those in the dome have been destroyed, however, and those that covered the barrel vault over the ambulatory were heavily restored in the early 19th century. These changes make the drawing on the right an interesting – if not entirely accurate – window into the building’s past.
Sherds: East meets West