Catacombs

Yesterday Rebecca was feeling unwell, so we stayed at home for much of the morning. Elsie, Dad and I walked up to the Garibaldi Monument on Janiculum hill. Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian freedom fighter, who fought against invading french forces at Rome. He led a team of idealistic soldiers called the Red-shirts. The view from the hill overlooked all of Rome.

Elsie and I at Janiculum hill

There was also a monument to Giuseppe's wife,  Anita Garibaldi who rode away from a besieged town with her newborn baby, brandishing a pistol. Her body was inside the monument

Anita Garibaldi

After lunch, we caught a crowded bus to the catacombs of Saint Domitilla, and San Callisto. The catacombs were used by the early Christians to bury their dead. They went on for miles, deep underground. San Domitilla was my favourite, it was much darker, and narrower than the catacombs of San Callisto, and was genuinely atmospheric. We were not allowed to take pictures, but even if we had, no photograph could properly demonstrate the full situation.