Catacomb of St. Priscilla–Restored, and Now on Google Maps

Things are bustling today at the Basilica of San Silvestro, the entry point to the catacombs of St. Priscilla.

For the past five years, archeologists have been excavating and restoring the paintings inside the catacombs and the basilica where Pope Silvestro is buried.  Today, their findings will be announced by the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology.

And as evidence of the Vatican’s expanding interface with the modern world, the catacombs of Priscilla can now be found on Google Maps, notably in a dedicated section titled “Views Priscilla”.   (See a screenshot below of the ground-level entrance and environs.)

The catacomb of Priscilla, located on Rome’s Via Salaria, was constructed on the site of a quarry, and was used as a burial place from the second through fourth centuries.  Its walls and ceilings are profusely decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament, including the oldest known Marian image, a stucco of Mary nursing the child Jesus.

Here are some scenes from the famed catacomb.

The Greek Chapel
in the Catacomb of Priscilla

And from Google Maps, an aerial view: