© PCAS
As part of the planned interventions in view of the 2025 Jubilee, the Patrum Lumen Sustine Foundation has chosen to support the restoration of Pope St. Eusebius’ cubicle, located in the catacombs of St. Callixtus in Rome.
This cubicle, which is extremely significant from a historical and archaeological point of view because it housed the remains of Pope St. Eusebius in 309, has a monumental appearance consisting of rich and varied decorations, characterised by frescoes on the vault and skylight, mosaic decorations in the arcosolia, and opus sectile coverings on the vertical walls. Also of considerable importance are two large marble epigraphs: the first, attributed to Pope Damasus (366-394), praises the deeds of Pope and martyr Eusebius in verse; the second is a 6th-century “copy” made to replace the original, which was probably destroyed by vandals. The two inscriptions were found in situ and placed in the museum at the end of the 19th century.
Various decorative interventions took place over time, between the end of the 3rd and the end of the 4th century, overlapping one another in an attempt to create a monumental uniformity that is difficult to restore today due to the loss of the most precious materials, such as mosaic tiles and marble sectilia wall coverings.
Furthermore, the state of conservation of this monumental complex is affected by forms of deterioration typical of underground environments, caused mainly by the particular microclimatic conditions and by a conservation history linked to the vicissitudes of Roman catacomb environments.
The conservation work on the artefacts, which vary in type and constituent materials, represented an important opportunity to gather new data on the artistic techniques used and to reflect, from a conservation point of view, on the specific operational choices for each artistic technique to be employed in the restoration of this complex monument. The methodologies and materials to be used for the restoration were selected on the basis of their compatibility with the nature and conditions of the constituent materials – plaster, mosaic tiles, marble fragments – with particular attention to compatibility with the already extreme microclimatic conditions of the underground context.
Restorers: Luigi De Prezzo, Giovanna Prestipino
Works management: Dr Barbara Mazzei, PCAS Archaeologist
Epigraph display: Antony Cerutti