Does San Felice rest under the Parco della Gioia?

The historical-geological hypothesis was presented by Stefania Nisio, geologist of Ispra, and Antonello Anappo, expert researcher of the territory of the XI Municipality, on the occasion of a seminar organized by Alessio De Cristofaro and 'his' Superintendence, at the museum Drugstore Museum, in the wake of the mission indicated by Lighthouse convection: manage, share and pass on the city's historical and cultural heritage.

A museum for everyone, which can amaze many Romans unaware of the historical and archaeological richness of the places where they themselves live.

Geology & history

The research presented by Nisio and Anappo is the result of long studies stratified like the soil of Rome. An embrace between geological and historical research, in partnerships for an investigative investigation imbued with culture and love for the common good.

A systematic review which hypothesizes the presence of the last destination of the martyr San Felice under the area destined to welcome the Joy Park in fact, it was born from the encounter between sophisticated techniques and in-depth studies.

Sinking Rome

The possible presence of catacombs he ancient historical evidence of the Rome that was is betrayed by the structural failures of the current metropolis.

Ispra, Institute for Environmental Research (which will present the map of landslides in Italy on 5 June), has well documented the condition of the soil in Rome.

Underground cavities, settlements and chasms have been 'photographed' in a continuously updated census, thanks to a database which records all emergencies in the city area, up to the ring road of the ring road.

The territory of the Municipality XI (where the Parco della Gioia is located) is the most affected by these phenomena.

Underground cavities and chasms

Studies have shown that between the via Portuense and the ancient via Campana (today via della Magliana) there are numerous underground cavities, as confirmed by the toponym of the current via dei Grottoni, where there are partially passable tunnels.

This conformation it can be attributed to the tuff extraction activity, widely practiced since Roman times. Vast areas of necropolises later developed in these underground quarries. Their presence, when abandoned and not stabilized, creates serious stability problems.

The area it has been the subject of numerous sinking incidents since the 70s. Particularly affected is via Giannetto Valli, involved in a new failure triggered by a water leak.

In the same area various other episodes confirm the fragility of the soil. Which makes it unsuitable for building buildings.

Underground Rome to explore

The chasms that also sink the palaces are an indication of the presence of underground cavities that have not yet been investigated. Could they welcome the catacombs of San Felice?

The thesis is accredited. And she feeds a new line of research starting from via dei Grottoni, thanks also to the precious operational contribution of the speleologists of the association Rome's underground, chaired by Marco Placidi. The hope is to intercept long-sought archaeological sites.

The repeated searches In fact, archaeological searches carried out so far have not yet identified numerous Jewish and Christian catacombs that were well known in antiquity. Among these is the famous catacomb of San Felice, annexed to a church, located at the third mile of the via Portuense.

The Mystery of the Third Mile

To complicate searches so far the difficulty of identifying the correct location of the Third Mile of the via Portuense (from the Roman era) has contributed. Now located right along via Magliana at via dei Grottoni. However, the area identified for the birth of the Parco della Gioia seems to be the point of arrival.

The cemetery of San Felice, according to historical sources, it was located on top of a hill from which the basilica of San Paolo could be seen and was accessed via an uphill road. After all, the same configuration that the cemetery of Santa Generosa has, which disappeared for centuries and was rediscovered just over a hundred years ago.

Does San Felice rest under the Parco della Gioia?

'The most recent hypothesis is that access to the cemetery can be reached from via dei Grottoni 51 (an underground passage made available by Égalité, ed). Here, inside a cave, a well has been identified which gives access to underground galleries, which are not yet viable because they are flooded with waste from civilian homes. The oral translations hand down that between via dei Grottoni and via di Giannetto Valli numerous ancient finds have been found, such as fragments of columns, small statues and bases of ancient statues which could attest to the presence of a basilica on site', He says Stephanie Nisio of Ispra.

'We have identified a second level of tunnels, there is a strong groundwater infiltration, who knows if it's not exactly that insalsados, the one referred to in historical sources, the point where the tunnels meet the groundwater. We will soon be able to access these very long but also very difficult exploratory tunnels. We are confident that there or next door we will find the catacombs of San Felice. For now we have found an underground cave network and following it to the end is the task we have given ourselves, with the support of the institutions. Of Ispra and of the Superintendence', hopes the researcher Antonello Anappo, which shares the operational phases in the field with Nusio.

The first conclusions assumptions about research have been shared by researchers and cavers in the interviews granted to Égalité.

Marta Strinati

REFERENCES

Ciotoli, Giancarlo & Nisio, Stefania. (2021). The underground cavities along the Portuense and the disappeared cemetery of Saint Felix. 108.

Nisio, Stefania & Ciotoli, Giancarlo. (2017). Rome vast areas of disappeared underground cavities. the case of the Catacomb of San Felice.

Ciotoli, Giancarlo & Nisio, Stefania. (2018). The disappeared underground cavities of Rome: the lost catacomb of Saint Felix along Portuense road. Environmental Geology – Italian Magazine of Environmental Geology. 4 – 48.

On the latest settlement in via Giannetto Valli, see also Fabio Grilli. The Portuense chasm reveals a vast catacomb. RomeToday. 14.5.23 https://www.romatoday.it/politica/voragini-ispra-ricerca-catacomba-antica-portuense.html