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Gods’ Collections: The Catacombs in Rome

Some research related to the LIT! project has been published in the blog of the wonderful Gods’ Collection project, run by Crispin Paine and Jessica Hughes.

Gods’ Collection aims to collect cases where art collections have developed within places of worship around the world and over the centuries. So this was for me an opportunity (for which I am truly grateful!) to present the ways in which Roman catacombs have been used to display archaeological collections between the 19th and the 20th centuries.

The feeling is that the use of the catacombs as exhibition sites is closely linked to the idea of creating facsimile catacombs for the dissemination of Christian archaeology in Europe. Indeed, very similar exhibition styles are proposed in both phenomena, and both are based on the concept of reconstructing the hypogeal environments in their entirety in order to offer complete experiences to visitors and scholars, at the cost of recreating non-authentic settings.

It is possible to read The Catacombs in Rome. Collecting and displaying in the first Christian cemeteries here. To learn more about Gods’ Collections, please visit this page.

(@PCAS)

Book launch: watch it again on Youtube!

On the 8th of April 2021, the presentation of the book “Giovanni Francesco Abela. Work, private collection and birth of Christian Archaeology in Malta” took place online. The event, hosted by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Valletta, allowed for a confrontation between various scholars on the figure of Giovanni Francesco Abela, father of Maltese historiography and Christian archaeology on the island.
A big thank you to the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Malta Historical Society and the University of Malta for joining this presentation.


It is possible to re-watch the event on youtube:

Save the date: book launch!

As previously announced on this site, the volume by C. Cecalupo “Giovanni Francesco Abela. Work, private collection and birth of Christian Archaeology in Malta” is now available. The book brings together years of study on the figure of Abela and his role in the discovery of Christian antiquities and archaeological collecting in Malta.

Despite the period of uncertainty due to the pandemic, there will still be a book launch!
The event is organised by the Italian Cultural Institute – Valletta, in collaboration with the Malta Historical Society, Department of Library Information and Archive Sciences of the University of Malta, and under the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Malta.
The meeting will be held on 8 April 2021 at 6pm and will be visible live on the youtube channel of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura – Valletta!

We are really looking forward to seeing you there!

Facebook event here.