Archaeologist, born in Rome, Italy. He is known for his research on the Christian catacombs of St Callistus in Rome, and has been called the founder of Christian archaeology.
Giovanni Battista de Rossi (Rome, February 23, 1822–Castel Gandolfo 20 September 1894) was an Italian archaeologist, famous outside his field for his rediscovery of early Christian
catacombs. He applied the sciences of archaeology and epigraphy and his thorough knowledge of the topography of Rome and the resources of the Vatican Library, where he was employed cataloguing
manuscripts, to Early Christian sites and guided the development of a new field, Christian archeology. The catacombs were opened in the early 3rd century, as the principal Christian cemetery in
Rome, where nine 3rd-century popes were buried.
Major works
Inscriptiones christianae Urbis Romae septimo saeculo antiquiores (vol. I, Rome, 1861; II, Rome, 1888). His original plan, a compendium of Christian inscriptions in the city of Rome
of the first seven centuries.
La Roma Sotterranea Cristiana (vol. I with an atlas of forty plates, Rome, 1864; II with an atlas of sixty-two and A, B, C, D plates, Rome, 1867; III with an
atlas of fifty-two plates, Rome, 1877). A Christian couynterpart to an early classic of archaeology, Antonio Bosio's
La Roma Sotterranea.
Mosaici delle chiese di Roma anteriori al
secolo XV (Rome, 1872), a series of colored lithographs with text in French and Italian illustrating the Late Antique and medieval mosaics of Rome.
Inscriptiones Urbis Romae latinae
volume VI of
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (Berlin) of which Rossi was one of the leading editors.
User Comments Add a comment…