If you land at the Ciampino airport of Rome Brian Dawkins Jersey , you'll have the chance not only to see the majesty of the roman acqueducts but also to explore the Appian way and the catacombs.
These ancient christian cemeteries are mostly underground passages running beneath large sections of Rome. More than 600 miles of galleries had been tunnelled out of the sandstone rock by the early Christians, and here they lived during times of persecution, here they had their meetings and here they buried their dead. I came across whole chapels carved out where large numbers could be accommodated. Inscriptions and paintings were here and there. In fact, it is claimed that our modern likeness of Christ, that is the accepted picture to-day, had its origin in the catacombs.
The long maze of galleries became the place for burial. Little cubicles about six feet long and two feet high were dug into the sides of the tunnels, often in tiers of three and four, and a marble slab was placed across the front. On these slabs epitaphs were written. When the graves have been opened the skeletons tell their own terrible tale. Many times heads are found severed from the body, shoulder blades are broken and bones are often calcined by fire, but nevertheless the hope of the Resurrection always shone through and there are references and signs pointing to that glad day. The most frequent symbols of the Catacombs are the Good Shepherd with a lamb on his shoulder, crowns, vines and the fish.
The hopelessness of pagan despair can be seen in these lines. It was the glorious hope of the Resurrection and the coming of Jesus that enabled those 80,000 to witness for their faith in the Colosseum and the untold thousands to die in other places during those early centuries of blood.
In 380, Christianity became a state religion. At first many still desired to be buried in chambers alongside martyrs. However, the practice of catacomb burial declined slowly, and the dead were increasingly buried in church cemeteries. In the 6th century catacombs were used only for martyrs锟?memorial services. Apparently Ostrogoths, Vandals and Lombards that sacked Rome also violated the catacombs, possibly looking for valuables.
By the 10th century catacombs were practically abandoned, and holy relics were transferred to above-ground basilicas. In the intervening centuries they remained forgotten until they were accidentally rediscovered in 1578, after which Antonio Bosio spent decades exploring and researching them for his volume, Roma Sotterranea (1632).
Few people know that the catacombs of Rome belong to the vatican and once you visit them you have to feel like being in a different country. This kind of territorial exception is the result of an agreement signed in 1932 between the prime minister of that time, Mussolini, and the Pope Pius XI.
The catacombs are visited by millions of people every year and many customers do not know which one to visit and their opening hours. The best deal you can have to visit these ancient burials is to hire a private minibus company which can lead you through the south districts of Rome where you can have the chance to understand the development of Christianity visiting the cathedral of Rome, saint John in Lateran and the Appian way. Author's Resource Box
If you want to optimize your time when arriving in Rome you can hire a private minibus transportation company with an english speaking driver as it is shown on http:
CAIRO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced to death seven members of Islamist militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and two to life in prison on charges of planning and executing attacks on the military, state-run media Ahramonline reported.
The attacks, known as the Arab Sharkas case, led to the death of two military officers.
The defendants' charges include planning terrorist operations, shootingcforces and attacking military facilities. The ruling has been approved by Egypt's grand mufti, a necessary procedure in Egyptian law.
This is the first trial against the Sinai-based jihadist group, which claims to support the Islamic State (IS) group operating in Syria and Iraq.
Terrorist attacks have risen since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the army last July and the massive security crackdown on his supporters, which left about 1, 000 of them killed and thousands more arrested.
The attacks targeted security men and their premises in the restive Sinai Peninsula and then extended to hit the capital and provinces across the country.
A recent official report said the death toll from such attacks has reached nearly 500, most of whom were soldiers and policemen. The al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
WELLINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The most commonly grown variety of kiwifruits in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty will not be commercially viable in the area by the end of the century, New Zealand scientists said on Friday.
A study into how climate change will affect production of the Hayward cultivar in the Bay of Plenty, which is the common bright green kiwifruit, was published in the New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science.
It is globally recognized that the effects of climate change is an emerging risk to the economic value of fruit crops, especially those grown in warm, temperate regions such as kiwifruit, said lead author Andrew Tait, scientist of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).