Coliseum TOUR ROME History |
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Opposite the Senate House and the Imperial Forums of Augustus, Nerva and Vespasian, buried a few metres beneath the foot of the north eastern slope of the Capitoline Hill is the notorious Mamertine Prison (Tullianum). Christians believe that St. Peter was incarcerated in the deeper chamber there before his execution in c. 64 AD, so it is no surprise to learn that not one, but two churches now occupy the original site. On the overground with it's back to Via dei Fori Imperiali sits S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami, which covers the entrance, and directly below, the chapel of S. Pietro in Carcere complete with inverted cross. A self-serving attraction to perpetuate the tradition that St. Peter was crucified upside down. The Tullianum was reserved for political prisoners, foreign military leaders and other enemies of the state. Inmates were detained prior to death by strangulation. Under Roman law, imprisonment was not punishment for a crime, but rather a holding stage before trial or execution. The story of St. Peter's unproven connection with the Mamertine Prison has popularised the site for over 1,500 years. Christian pilgrims flock to the tiny altars. The prison today comprises two underground levels built in c. 620 BC over an ancient cistern, which later became part of the Cloaca Maxima (600 BC), Rome's earliest sewer.
[Previous Page / Next Page] ** This page introduces the Mamertine Prison |
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