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Azerbaijani First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva has today viewed the Mausoleum of Helena and the Catacombs of Rome restored with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
The Azerbaijani First Lady was informed about the mausoleum.
The Mausoleum of Helena is an ancient building in Rome, currently located on the Via Casilina, corresponding to the 3rd mile of the ancient Via Labicana. It was built by the Roman emperor Constantine first between 326 and 330, originally as a tomb for himself, but later assigned to his mother, Helena, who died in 328.
The area where the mausoleum is located is part of a late-Roman complex of building known as Ad Duas Lauros, which, according to ancient sources, extended from the Porta Maggiore until the third mile of the ancient Via Labicana. They include the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter and the Palaeo-Christian basilica with the same name of the latter, little remains today, as it was used as the base for the modern church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro ad Duas Lauros.
Mehriban Aliyeva then viewed the Catacombs of Rome which was restored with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places under Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, they began in the second century AD, mainly as a response to overcrowding and shortage of land.
The Christian catacombs are extremely important for the art history of Early Christian art, as they contain the great majority of examples from before about 400 AD, in fresco and sculpture, as well as gold glass medallions (these, like most bodies, have been removed). The ongoing restoration work increases the importance of the Catacombs of Rome.
The implementation of this project is praised as a contribution of the Muslim world to the holy Christian monuments.
The restoration of the Holy Catacombs of Rome was carried out under an agreement signed between the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Holy See in 2012.
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