Helena's mausoleum
The Helenamausoleum is a late antique grave monument in Rome on the Via Casilina, the former Via Labicana . It was built under Emperor Constantine between 326 and 330 and initially served as a burial place for Helena , the emperor's mother († around 329).
location
The mausoleum can be reached from Via Casilina through Via Marcellino. In the immediate vicinity are the catacombs of Saints Marcellino and Peter (since the 3rd century), the remains of the basilica of Santi Marcellino e Pietro (around 315) and the parish church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro (from 1751).
According to ancient sources, outside the Aurelian city wall, a large imperial estate with an estate extended from Porta Maggiore to the third milestone of Via Labicana. This also included the area called ad duas lauros ('to the two laurel trees'), where the parade ground and the cemetery of the Equites singulares , a mounted imperial guard, were located. Numerous gravestones with inscriptions were reused in the buildings later built on this site and were found during the excavations that began in 1956.
history
In the immediate vicinity of the equestrian cemetery, a Christian catacomb was built in the second half of the 3rd century, in which several martyrs were also buried, including the particularly venerated Petrus exorcista and Marcellinus presbyter , after whom the catacomb was later named.
After the end of the persecution of Christians and the turning point in Constantine, Emperor Constantine himself took the initiative to build the first large churches (including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome). Around 315 he also had a 65 m long and 29 m wide basilica built in honor of the martyrs mentioned on the imperial property on Via Labicana, precisely on the previous cemetery area . The thesis is entirely plausible that Constantine deliberately destroyed the found cemetery for the construction of the basilica, since the Equites singulares fought on the side of his opponent Maxentius in the battle of the Milvian Bridge . Probably for the same reasons, a few years earlier he had also had the Lateran basilica built on the spot where the barracks of his predecessor's imperial bodyguard had previously stood.
The basilica served as a burial place from the beginning; it was a covered cemetery ( coemeterium subteglatum ). The desire to be buried close to the saints buried in the catacombs was so pronounced that almost the entire floor of the basilica was covered with graves. Even the members of the imperial family, which had become Christian, did not want to do without such a grave ad sanctos ('close to the saints').
In a second construction phase, around 326, at Constantine's behest, a large circular mausoleum with a vestibule was added to the narthex on the east side of the basilica. In this way, a close axial connection was created between the sacred building and the mausoleum, each with an altar donated by Constantine in the apse of the basilica and in front of the sarcophagus in the mausoleum; the imperial tomb was integrated into the Christian church in this way. “Through this architectural integration of the martyr cult and veneration of the emperor, Constantine apparently tried to replace the traditional divinization of the ruler, the elevation of the emperor to the circle of deities after death, and thus the traditional imperial cult , an essential element of the Roman constitution State to Christianize. ”This close connection between sacred building and mausoleum was unprecedented until then; it was repeated in a similar way when connecting the basilica of Sant'Agnese with the mausoleum of Constantina (daughter of Constantine the Great), known today under the name of Santa Costanza in Rome.
Since Helena's death, the lands ad duas lauros belonged to the Church. In the 8th century the mausoleum served as a fortress after the basilica and the mausoleum had lost their importance due to the robbery of the relics of the titular saints Marcellinus and Peter. In the following centuries, both complexes were used as a quarry and, above all, the mausoleum was robbed of its marble decorations, so that today only a picturesque ruin bears witness to the old splendor.
construction
Around 326 - after the completion of the basilica - the mausoleum was added to the slightly sloping narthex of the basilica at the instigation of Constantine . A rectangular vestibule of the mausoleum served as a link. The basilica now had to be entered from the south aisle . The special location and the stately clear width of the round mausoleum of 20 m on the ground floor indicate the great importance of the person buried there. Eight niches were set into the 3.75 m thick outer walls , rectangular in the main axes and semicircular in the diagonals , which significantly expanded the interior space at the expense of the wall thickness.
The planning of the mausoleum adheres to the models of the late antique imperial round mausoleum, but presents new architectural forms on the recessed upper floor. There are seven, outward-facing, rounded niches with large arched windows that reach up to the dome, which should have provided an impressive level of brightness inside. Above it arched a dome with empty amphorae built into the concrete mass ( opus caementitium ) to facilitate the setting process . These amphorae are still visible today in the dome base. They were named Tor Pignattara ('Pot Tower') for this construction method and also for the Roman city quarter in which the Helenamausoleum is located.
Small traces suggest that the entire building was plastered red on the outside . The entire equipment is said to have corresponded to the importance of this imperial foundation. Inside, elaborate incrustations in several rows of tall rectangular marble slabs covered both floors. The floor was also covered with square slabs (1.80 m side length) made of Cipollino marble. Imprints of mosaic stones have been preserved in the vault of the dome . The motif of the dome mosaic is no longer known.
"Helena sarcophagus"
The sarcophagus stood in the wider main niche opposite the main entrance to the mausoleum . It was made of porphyry , adorned all around with battle scenes and with a length of 2.70 m and a height of 1.80 very representative. Above all, these battle scenes support the thesis that the mausoleum and sarcophagus were originally intended for the emperor himself, but were no longer needed due to the relocation of the imperial residence from Rome to Constantinople .
Despite the destruction and renovations, the sarcophagus remained in place until the 11th century. Then it was first transferred to the Lateran Basilica (to receive the remains of Pope Anastasius IV ) and later to the Vatican Museums , where it is still located today.
Web links
- Il mausoleo di Elena e la basilica dei SS. Marcellino e Pietro sulla Labicana. Imago Romae (Italian, with old views and floor plans) ( Memento from January 26, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ).
literature
- Hugo Brandenburg : The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century , Regensburg 2013, p. 54ff.
- Jürgen J. Rasch / Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann u. a .: The mausoleum of Empress Helena in Rome and the "Tempio dellaTosse" in Tivoli , Mainz 1998.
- Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - Ein Vademecum , Freiburg, 2nd edition 2017, p. 71ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chapter on Pope Silvester (reign 314–335) in the Liber Pontificalis from the 6th century.
- ^ Hugo Brandenburg: The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century , Regensburg 2013, p. 56ff.
- ↑ Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum . Freiburg, 2nd edition 2017, p. 75
- ^ Hugo Brandenburg: The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century , Regensburg 2013, p. 56
Coordinates: 41 ° 52 ′ 44.2 " N , 12 ° 32 ′ 55.7" E