Underground basilica of Porta Maggiore

The underground basilica of Porta Maggiore is an underground basilica in Rome near the Porta Maggiore, built between 14 and 54 AD.

It was used for meetings of Neopythagoreans. The ground plan shows a basilica with three naves and an apse similarly to early Christian basilicas that appeared only much later in the 4th century.[1] The vaults are decorated with white stuccoes symbolizing Neopythagorean beliefs but whose exact meaning remains a subject of debate.[2]

It was discovered by chance on 23 April 1917 after one of its ceiling vaults collapsed during the construction of a railway viaduct from and through the Roma Termini railway station and a street-level tram-line serving the neighbourhoods along the via Prenestina.

References

  1. ↑ Ball Platner, Samuel. "Basilicae". penelope.uchicago.edu.
  2. ↑ Lisa Spencer, The Neo-Pythagoreans at the Porta Maggiore in Rome, Rosicrucian digest,vol. 87 / 1 (2009), p 36

Coordinates: 41°53′30″N 12°30′59″E / 41.8918°N 12.5165°E / 41.8918; 12.5165

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