Special energy of places of worship, Catacombs of Anagni in Vico Moricino

Special energy of places of worship, Catacombs of Anagni in Vico Moricino

Italy always surprises with its history and areas near Rome surprise even more! As the case of the Roman catacombs on the edge of the estate and agriturismo of Vico Moricino. It is a unique experience that adds to the pleasure of spending a holiday in an ancient medieval castle.
But let us start from the beginning and review the history of the place and the catacombs.
We are located along the route of an old Roman road that connected the capital with an area of ​​villas (a famous imperial villa is not far away at Villa Magna) and finally with Fiuggi. The healing quality of Fiuggi waters was already known as well as the taste of wine from a particular red grape which still produces an excellent wine: the Cesanese.
The Roman villas had a particular configuration because besides, being the country residence of a noble family, were real farms with a methodical organization in the fields of cultivation. They were used to supply the city of Rome with fruit and vegetables.
Anagni is also a special city. It was the holy city of the Ernici, the pre-Roman people who inhabited this area, and since its foundation had an acropolis with a temple dedicated to the fertilizing goddess Ceres and many other temples scattered about the countryside.
Temples were always built on what were believed to be particular energy points of the earth, and this facilitated the mystical relationship between the faithful and the priests. When the Romans conquered a people they met the religious cults and used the temples for their rituals to avoid losing the mystical energy effect.
With the arrival of Christianity, Christians also used the same temples to build their churches so as not to lose the effect of the network of terrestrial geomagnetism. The Christians were more determined and in 391, after the edict signed by Theodosius, Gratian and Valentinian II that prohibited the pagan cults, began the transformation of all the pagan temples into Christian churches.
At Vico Moricino a small church was thus formed and dedicated to San Bartolomeo, of which no trace remains, and the dead began to be buried according to Christian rites in catacombs dug into the tuff.
For those who have never been in a catacomb we can describe the feelings that are not only those when viewing an ancient historical artifact. Upon entering you feel an incredible energy, as if all the souls of the past, with their prayers, had soaked the rocks with a particular force.
At Vico Moricino there are two catacombs dating back to the fourth century AD. The largest catacomb, consists of a central corridor with niches on both sides and with a small space with a vault on the right. Here, on a grave, one can see an interesting inscription: Victorinu (s) hic dor (mit) in pacem.
The catacombs were part of the village that had formed around the Roman villa and the only paleo-Christian monument in the valley of the Sacco. The catacomb is partly collapsed but in the day-light you can see everything in its path, but above all, you immediately feel the energy of the place even before entering.
Experience this energy of the catacomb and visit the village with the wonderful agriturismo of Vico Moricino (Vico Moricino link farm,) that has been restored and created with love and good taste by Claudio and Simona. Absorb the excitement of becoming part of a story that is over 2000 years old.


Written by:
Benedicta Lee

Born in Rome from an Italian mother and American father, she works as a freelance communications manager and designer in the tourism sector, a career and interest which she is pursuing with a...

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