Rome & Lazio - Italy - page 206

tion never took place, the name stuck - Esposizione Universale di Roma (Roman Univer-
sal Exhibition) or EUR.
The area's main interest lies in its rationalist architecture, which finds perfect form in
the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro (Palace of the Workers; Quadrato della Concordia; EUR
Magliana) , aka the Square Colosseum, a 50m-high tower interspersed by rows of orderly
arches.
Of EUR's museums, the best is the Museo della Civiltà Romana ( 06 06 08; Piazza G
Agnelli 10; adult/reduced €7.50/5.50, incl Museo Astronomico & Planetario €9.50/7.50; 9am-2pm Tue-
Sun; EUR Fermi) , a possible kid-pleaser with models of Roman statues and a fascinating
room-size re-creation of 4th-century Rome.
THE CATACOMBS
Built as communal burial grounds, the catacombs were the early Christians' solution to the problem of
what to do with their dead. Belief in the Resurrection meant that they couldn't cremate their corpses,
as was the custom at the time, and Roman law forbade burial within the city walls. Furthermore, as a
persecuted minority they didn't have their own cemeteries. So, in the 2nd century they began to dig
beneath Via Appia Antica, where a number of converted Christians already had family tombs.
Over time, as Christianity became more popular, competition for burial space became fierce and a
cut-throat trade in tomb real estate developed. However, by the late 4th century, Christianity had been
legalised and the Christians had begun to bury their dead near the basilicas that were springing up
within the city walls. By the Middle Ages the catacombs had been all but abandoned.
More than 30 catacombs have been uncovered in the Rome area since scholars started researching
them in the 19th century.