taste
Through the underground tunnels it is possible to find some tombs with a unique appearance, covered by slabs with three holes on the surface.
You can immediately sense the sacral power and beauty of an ancient rite: the refrigerium, literally meaning “refreshment”, i.e. the funeral banquet ceremony intended to “nourish” the soul of the deceased and promote passage to eternal life.
During the banquet, the living consoled the dead by pouring wine, milk and honey through holes made in the slab.
The refrigerium was a wish to participate in the heavenly banquet and took place during the mourning period (the third, seventh, ninth, thirtieth and fortieth day after the death of the deceased).
hearing
The common and widespread custom of placing amulets on tombs to ward off evil, including bells, silver and gold plates and iron hooves, and of whispering invocations and prayers of all kinds, were some of the many elements of superstition that adepts of the new faith inherited from paganism.
These rites were contrasted by the silence of the catacombs, a sacred, meaningful silence full of history and mystery, more eloquent than words themselves.
This calm atmosphere, evocative of the life and sacrifice of the first Christians, was a privileged place of spiritual meditation and renewal of faith.
The courageous witness of the martyrs challenged the first Christians and made them reflect.
smell
The smell generally associated with cemeteries is a combination of an acrid, stale smell and the tenacious and insistent scent of flowers.
However, though cemeteries now stand in the open air, when travelling back in time to the ancient underground burials of Syracuse, we must imagine environments almost without any ventilation, which, immersed in the damp, would retain all kinds of smells.
For this reason the custom of spreading oils, flowers and ointments inside the tombs was common.
The bodies were perfumed with myrrh ointment, while aromatic essences were poured into small cups or glass jars to offset the rotting smell.
