Vatican Necropoles Rome's City of the Dead

352 p., 240 x 310 mm,Languages: English, Hardback with dusjacket. ISBN 9782503535784. This is the first published summary of the entire complex of the great necropoles of Rome, which were situated on Vatican Hill. The work concerns one of the most extensive, richest, and least-known Roman archaeological phenomena and bears witness to the work of creating an underground museum that has been followed internationally as a model of conservation practice. From the submerged world of the necropoles emerges the funeral ?normality? of the Roman world, from poorer cremations in wooden urns, to sumptuous sarcophagi, to sepulchres adorned with frescoes and mosaics. One can also observe Egyptian cults influencing the practice of epicurean philosophy. In addition, we can catch a glimpse of the first traces of Christianity, which include the presence of St. Peter the Apostle?s tomb. "Il s'agit d'un tres bel ouvrage qu'on ne se lasse pas de feuilleter, et dont on retiendra plus particulierement la richesse du propos et la qualite des photographies en pleine page, ainsi que le souci de donner un apercu aussi bien de la diversite du decor ornemental que du mobilier mis au jour. P. Liverani et G. Spinola nous offrent la une synthese eclairante et passionnante sur cet exceptionnel ensemble funeraire."