ROMA SOTTERRANEA or An Account of the Roman Catacombs, Especially of the Cemetery of St. Callixtus, Compiled from the Works of Commendatore De Rossi with the Consent of the Author.

2 volumes. New Edition, rewritten and greatly enlarged. 1 photographic frontispiece, 23 Chromolithographic plates,183 wood engravings and a large folding plan in colour in the rear pocket of Volume II, complete as called for. Thick 8vo, beautifully bound in full white vellum, the spines elaborately decorated in gilt in a crosshatch and floral design, contrasting dark red and black morocco lettering labels gilt, the covers beautifully decorated with gilt multi-ruled borders, elaborate corner pieces incorporating vines and flowers and the upper cover of each volume with a beautiful centrally located large handpainted bouquets of contrasting flowers in blue,white, yellow, orange, green brown and red. xxvii,512; xvi, 368. A very good set of this scarce and scholarly work, with some minor wear or light aging to the heads and tails of the spines. Virtually free of the usual foxing typical in this book.

Edizione: a beautiful and unique copy of a very scarce and important book. in the early centuries after the death of christ, the christians and jews were a small minority in pagan rome. following their belief in burial rather than cremation they created vast underground cemeteries outside the roman walls. the soft volcanic rock under rome allowed the creation of rows and rows of burial niches, each sealed with a marble slab engraved with a memorial to the dead. wealthier families created their own private chambers, beautifully painted and inscribed. the decorations of the catacombs, range from biblical scenes to elaborate creations of paradise incorporating both symbols and styles from the past and those of the roman present. some even contain small underground chapels that are still in use today. <br> after the fourth century, the catacombs fell into disuse. ransacked by invaders and largely forgotten, only a few remained on the itinerary of the hardiest medieval pilgrims. until the 16th century they remained a forgotten mystery, when antonio bosio, the first explorer of the catacombs began to explore and report his findings in his work roma sotterranea. 250 years later g. de rossi did the first extensive excavations and recording of the catacombs. through his work, the catacombs again became available to both scholars and pilgrims. though there are jewish and pagan catacombs in rome, de rossi focused his work on the christian catacombs, by far the most numerous. his greatest excavations are in the catacomb of s. callixtus found to be the burial site of several early popes. <br> this edition of roma sotteranea starts with bosio?s edition as it?s base and then builds on new discoveries by derossi. northcote and brownlow have gone beyond translation and added additional information that derossi had published in separate archaeological journals. the first volume traces the history of the catacombs, from the early beginnings of the church to their rediscovery and excavation. the second volume focuses on the art and the inscriptions, comprehensively illustrated from derossi?s notes.