MARUCCHI, ORAZIO. - Archaeologist, b. in Rome on 10 Nov. 1852, d. there on 21 Jan. 1931. A disciple of G. B. De Rossi, he took part from 1872 in the fortunate explorations of the cemetery of Domitilla; his first personal discovery was the identification of the burial crypt of the martyr Valentine at the 1st mile of the Via Flaminia (La cripta sepolcrale di s. Valentino sulla Via Flaminia rinvenuta e descritta, in Studi in Italia, 1 [1878], pp. 1-70; Il Cimitero e la basilica di S. Valentino, Rome 1890; Ulteriori osservazioni sulle antichità cristiane scoperte al primo miglio della Via Flaminia, in Bull. della Comm. archeol. comun. di Roma, 56 [1928], pp. 119-32).
He gave valuable assistance in the exploration of the hypogeum of the Acilii Glabriones in the cemetery of Priscilla, and after the death of his master (1894), of Armellini (1896) and of Stevenson (1898), he had for the most part the task of directing the Nuovo bollettino di archeologia cristiana from 1898 to 1922.
Among the numerous discoveries made and illustrated by him, mention should be made of those of the crypt of the martyrs Marcellinus and Peter, on the Via Labicana, of the crypt of Felix and Adauctus, in the cemetery of Commodilla; the excavations in the cemetery of Priscilla (he maintained the hypothesis, not however accepted, that there, on the Salaria and not on the Nomentana, the primitive memorial of Peter's apostolate in Rome should be recognized); the excavations at St. Sebastian outside the walls, which confirmed the ancient tradition concerning the apostolic memorial « in catacumbas »; the identification of the place where were buried the martyrs « quos Graecia misit ». He was also most expert in Egyptian antiquities, in epigraphy, in Roman topography; for which reason mention should be made of the works on the Roman Forum and the Palatine (Rome 1883), the Nuova descrizione della casa delle Vestali (ibid. 1887), the Osservazioni sulla Regia e sull'atrio di Vesta (ibid. 1890); the illustration of the obelisks of Rome and of the Vatican Egyptian Museum, of which he was for many years director; the illustrations on the antiquities of Palestrina, especially the monograph on the Praenestine martyr Agapitus, whose place of martyrdom he identified (Memorie storiche della cattedrale di Palestrina, Rome 1918; Guida archeologica della città di Palestrina, ibid. 1932). He was also director of the Lateran Museum (I monumenti del Museo cristiano Pio Lateranense, Milan 1910), a writer of the Vatican Library, a member of many Italian and foreign scientific academies, secretary of the Pontifical Commission of Archaeology; an incomparable popularizer: Il matrimonio cristiano sopra un antico monumento inedito, in Studi in Italia, 5 (1882), pp. 1-15; l'Antichità del culto della Beata Vergine (Rome 1883); Difeso del pontificato di Damaso contro un nuovo attacco dei protestanti, in Rassegna italiana, 3 (1883), pp. 1-13; La supremazia della Sede romana considerata nei monumenti dei primi secoli, in Bessarione, 2 (1897), pp. 1-15; etc. Professor of Christian archaeology in the College of Propaganda Fide, in that of St. Anselm of the Sulpicians (the lectures delivered in the latter were collected and published in Éléments d'archéologie chrétienne, 3 vols., Paris 1900-1903; Manuel d'archéologie chrétienne, resumé des éléments d'archéologie chrétienne, Bruges 1906; Manuale di archeologia cristiana, Rome 1908, 1933; Manuale di epigrafia cristiana, Milan 1910. He held the chair of topography of cemetery Rome in the University of Rome; he was among the founders of the « Collegium Cultorum martyrum », of which he was a venerated « magister ».
An exuberant and enthusiastic temperament, M. sometimes expressed hypotheses, albeit ingenious, not entirely well founded, and built on premises not always consistent; nevertheless in his publications, over 400, one must always admire the clarity, the dialectical skill, the inexhaustible erudition.
His last wish was that on his tomb should be placed the humble inscription: « O. M. romano cultore dei martiri ».
Bibliography2 works
Gioacchino Mancini