Via Triumphalis Necropolis opened on November 17, 2023, and for the first time in its history the necropolis will be available to a wide range of visitors who purchase a ticket. Previously, only certain specialists, academics and students were allowed to enter this place after obtaining special permission.
One of the people whose identity is revealed by the inscriptions on the tombstone is a man named Alcimio. He was the curator of the theater in Pompeii, who took care of the scenography elements. His remains contain carpentry tools that he probably used in his work. Another person who was buried in the Via Triumphalis Necropolis cemetery was a certain Nunnius – a forester.
Via Triumphalis Necropolis: ancient necropolis under the Vatican
The location of the Via Triumphalis Necropolis cemetery is not accidental. According to Roman law, for hygienic reasons, burial places were established along roads outside the city limits.
-The cemetery was discovered in 1956 during the construction of a parking lot in the Vatican. In 2003, further construction works (on another parking lot) revealed the last segment of the necropolis. It was eventually connected to the cemetery area that had been discovered earlier.
Access to the Via Triumphalis Necropolis cemetery is possible through a new, monumental bronze gate called Porta di Santa Rosa in the Vatican wall, which was built on the orders of Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican Museums opened an exhibition in the necropolis entitled “The Life and Death in Rome of the Emperors”.
