L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026 L'Italo-Americano I n t h e a g e o f o v e r - tourism, the discovery of "hidden Italy" has b e c o m e a c l i c h é . Books list villages that supposedly are off the well- worn tourist paths but are often overrun by busloads of tourists. A short visit to a "hid- den" village and lunch in a t o u r i s t - f i l l e d r e s t a u r a n t counts as tour guides' reward for their clients. However, for dedicated students of Italian history and art, there are sites that lie only minutes from Rome's historical center that provide fascinating insights into Italian history and cul- ture. One outstanding example is the two-thousand-year-old Roman mausoleum turned C a t h o l i c c h u r c h , S a n t a Costanza. Of course, it is not hidden. In fact, like just about all historical sites in Italy, there is ample information about this mysterious monu- ment on the web, a source of some of my information on this wonderful mausoleum. In spite of its inconvenient location from Rome's center at the Sant' Agnese metro Line B stop, a visit is worth the trouble. Situated only minutes from the Sant' Agnese station, i t i s o f f t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l tourist map, and even better, there is little room in its sub- u r b a n l o c a t i o n f o r l a r g e tourist buses. When you visit, it is all yours to enjoy in the s i l e n c e a n d m y s t e r y t h a t e n v e l o p s t h i s w o n d e r f u l Roman site. The experience is a step back into Roman histo- ry just as it appeared over two-thousand years ago. U n l i k e R o m e ' s o t h e r ancient sites, the remarkable aspect of the mausoleum is that it is not a ruin, nor has its structure been compromised by any type of restoration. Its original condition is all but p r i s t i n e . I t h a s n o t b e e n degraded significantly by the e l e m e n t s , n o r h a s i t b e e n damaged over the centuries by invading enemies. Located in its obscure setting in the Tri- este neighborhood, it must have avoided the notice of all foreign, marauding armies o v e r t h e c e n t u r i e s a n d escaped destruction. It is one of Rome's most remarkable monuments. Adding to its allure, its ori- gin is something of a mys- tery, as scholars apparently disagree over its original pur- pose. One version informs us that Constantine the Great c o n s t r u c t e d i t o r a t l e a s t began construction of the mausoleum before he died in 337 AD, for one of his several d a u g h t e r s , C o n s t a n t i n a . Another version of the mau- soleum's history is that Con- stantina either built it for her- self or perhaps attempted to complete the emperor's pro- ject before she died in 354 AD. Some suggest that her brother completed the unfin- ished mausoleum after her and Constantine's death. No one seems to be sure. So, there it has remained without a definitive history and undamaged for centuries. With her tomb in the center o f t h e s m a l l r o t o n d a , t h e mausoleum was unvisited until about the approximately the ninth century when the Catholic Church expropriated the pagan site and certified it as a church. We know this because there is a record of a mass being held in the updat- ed Christian site in the tenth century. Upon its consecra- tion as an official church, Constantina's sarcophagus was removed and replaced by an altar. T h e s i m p l e s t w a y t o describe it is that it is a mini- Pantheon. It has a small vestibule that leads into the rotonda, dimly but beautifully lit by a series of small win- dows surrounding the base of the richly frescoed dome, which soars approximately one-hundred feet above the floor. Its quiet, obliquely lit interior only enhances its mysterious pre-Christian ori- gins. The center rotunda is sur- r o u n d e d b y C o r i n t h i a n columns that support the dome and provide a prome- nade around the center where Constantina's tomb was once located. Before entering the site, I learned from the plaque at the door the age of the two- thousand-year-old structure. When I entered, I immediate- ly inspected the columns and the capitals to my right and left. I expected to find only remnants of the originals or at least restored versions of the columns. However, I was shocked: the remarkably pre- served condition of the origi- nal Roman columns defied what I had just read at the entrance. As I walked around the perimeter of the center, I carefully examined others and came to the jaw-dropping conclusion that none had been restored, but were all original and untouched. I was in the presence of the original Roman craftsman- s h i p t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e d Roman architecture through- out the Roman Empire. T h e r e a r e s t u n n i n g mosaics, possibly Roman or later, depicting a farmer with oxen under their yoke and another colorful one of wine making. Their iconography captures that stereotypical image of an early Roman pas- toral life, the presumed origin of ancient Rome. Mussolini would depict this idealized image of Roman life in the façades of the buildings he constructed surrounding one of Rome's most fascinating and recently reconstructed ruins, Augustus' tomb in the Piazza Augusto Imperatore. Another large mosaic depicts animals, abstract figures and designs. The cupola soaring d r a m a t i c a l l y o v e r h e a d i s brightly frescoed and decorat- ed with original mosaics as well. N e x t t o t h e R o m a n e r a mosaics and images are fres- coes that decorate the walls of t h e r o t u n d a . T h e b i b l i c a l scenes were created under the aegis of the Church. Some h a d f a d e d f r o m w h a t appeared to be water damage from nearby windows. But others were as bright as the d a y t h e y w e r e p a i n t e d . Roman and Christian iconog- raphy sit comfortably next to each other in the context of the Catholic mass and ritual performed in the space. In quiet contemplation, I strolled around the central altar in the dim, half-light provided by the small arched windows below the cupola. To borrow a line from the Ameri- can poet Wallace Stevens, images mingle to suggest the "holy hush" of ancient sacri- f i c e s , b o t h o f t h e p a g a n Roman Mythra cult and of its replacement, Christianity. As I stepped outside into the reality of a sunny day with Carole, my wife, and our rela- tives from Ohio, I soon dis- covered that for the traveler interested in experiencing I t a l i a n c u l t u r e f i r s t h a n d , there is another reason for taking the time and effort to visit Rome's outlying neigh- borhoods. After a visit to the mausoleum, the traveler can t a k e a c o m f o r t a b l e s t r o l l through the small, uncrowded neighborhood's main com- mercial shopping area. It is a neighborhood untrammeled by busloads of tourists or spoiled by garish tourist sou- venir shops. Its commercial establishments serve only the surrounding suburban popu- lation. Furthermore, the cost of a caffe' normale will not break your travel budget. You are allowed to see a side of Italian culture unmolested by the over-tourism that has come to characterize the his- toric center. The bus ride to and from the Termini station, including the subway crowds, suddenly made all the effort worth the trouble. Scambray's most recent book is Italian Immigration in the American West; 1870- 1940 (Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 2021) KEN SCAMBRAY LIFE PEOPLE PLACES EVENTS Santa Costanza: Rome's unvisited treasure Inside the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza in Rome, the circular plan and ring of columns create a luminous, harmonious space typical of early Christian architec- ture (Photo: Nicola Messana/Dreamstime.com); bottom right, light floods the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza in Rome, one of the best-preserved examples of early Christian architecture in the city (Photo: Ciolca/Dreamstime.com).

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