Catacomb of Priscilla

The Catacombs of Priscilla lie along the Via Salaria in northern Rome, occupying a disused Roman quarry that served as a Christian burial site from the late second to the fourth century. They take their name from Priscilla, wife of the consul Manius Acilius Glabrio, executed under Domitian. The roughly 13 kilometres of galleries are estimated to hold over 40,000 burials, including seven early popes. The frescoes in the Cappella Greca and the Cubiculum della Velata are famous as some of the earliest surviving images of the Virgin Mary, and include a woman in the orans posture which some scholars read as an early priest. Guided tours are run by the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology; tickets are sold at the Benedictine convent above.