Cultors of Christian Archaeology in Rome, Society of the
Founded on 12 December 1875 by Fr. Luigi Bruzza and G. B. De Rossi, the Society aimed to prepare, train, and encourage, through periodic meetings, friendly discussions, and observations, that group of young beginners who were turning their attention to the study of Christian antiquities, both Italians and foreigners, and among these especially the students of the «École française de Rome» and the German Archaeological Institute. Among those present at the founding were the young Mariano Armellini, Giacomo Lumbroso, Enrico Stevenson, and Orazio Marucchi.
The Society’s first meeting place was a hall attached to the church of S. Carlo al Corso; in 1885 it moved to the Palazzo of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy at the Minerva; thereafter it shared its quarters with the Pontifical Roman Academy of Archaeology at the Cancelleria; from 1927 to 1935 it was housed at the Pontifical Institute of Archaeology; after a suspension of several years it resumed its meetings in February 1944 at the Cancelleria, in the quarters of the said Pontifical Academy.
A volume of the minutes of the meetings from 1875 to 1887 was published, with a preface by O. Marucchi, footnotes by G. B. De Rossi, and an analytical index by A. Grossi Gondi: *Resoconto delle conferenze di archeologia cristiana in Roma, dal 1875 al 1887* (Rome 1888).
The Society’s presidents were: Fr. L. Bruzza until 1883; then G. B. De Rossi until his death (1894); from December 1899 L. Duchesne until 1922; then Orazio Marucchi until 1931; G. P. Kirsch until 1935; from 1944 to 1949 Fr. A. Ferrara; from 1950 E. Josi. The first secretary, from the foundation until 1922, was Orazio Marucchi; thereafter E. Josi, V. Capocci, R. Fausti, L. De Bruyne, A. P. Frutaz, and A. Amore.
Even today the Society continues, in accordance with tradition, to hold meetings at which new studies and observations are presented, affording especially to young scholars the opportunity to publish their first essays, to facilitate scientific relations and exchanges with various foreign institutions, and to communicate news of recent discoveries and new publications.
The minutes of the meetings were included in its *Bulletino di archeologia* by G. B. De Rossi, who enriched them with his annotations; they were subsequently published until 1922 in the *Nuovo bullettino di archeologia cristiana*, and thereafter in the *Rivista di archeologia cristiana*.