Day 3

day 3 in Rome was a nice affair. Starting with catacombs of San Sebastián. We travelled outside the city walls to the appian way to reach the catacombs. It has been one of the highlights of the trip so far,. The catacombs were burial places just like modern day ones and Rome had several of them and these dates to 1st century ad.

Just like modern urban centres, real estate was expensive back then and people had a tough time finding space to bury their loved ones. In comparison to today's cities which have gone vertically upwards, the Roman towns went beneath to accommodate their sprawling megapolis needs. The Christian idea of burial than burning due to the faith in resurrection after judgement day is one retained by the abrahamical faiths. The catacombs had curators and coffin makers , interminably the coffin maker stamp was existent on all coffins - a precursor to the modern day sales tax.

Next on the list , st clement church which is built on the ancient order of Mithras. As Christianity became more accepted and also later the official religion, the pagan religions were trampled upon and one can see traces of ancient religions bring exterminated. Two levels of ancient churches and Mithrae.

Last stop in Rome before moving to Naples was the beautiful and majestic basilica of Lateran st. Giovanni . It has been the seat of the pope for a considerable period of time in history and also one of the pilgrim churches of Rome.

A beautiful cup of coffee and we are off to Naples, the bustling and sprightly southern city.