An NIU art history professor recently spent a week in Rome, studying the Jewish catacombs not open to the public.

Judith Testa, an associate professor in the School of Art, visited two catacomb sites now accessible with special permission from the Italian government. Testa spoke with archaeologists working at the sites and a colleague took extensive photos for a research project she is working on.

The Jewish catacombs Testa viewed date from the second and third centuries and are not open to the public. They contain wall paintings and inscriptions documenting the existence and activities of the Jews of ancient Rome.

“The art is not great art,” said Testa,”but it’s very vigorous, and it shows that the Jews were very comfortable in Rome. At the same time, they were very proud of their ethnic and religious heritage.”

Testa noted the art work in parts of the catacombs has “an interesting mixture of Jewish and pagan elements.”

Although it is not widely known, there was once a large Jewish community in Rome. “Most people think all Italians are Catholic,” Testa said. She often receives amazed reactions from people when they learn the Jews of Rome are the oldest Jewish community in the western world.

There are currently about 15,000 Jews living in Rome, Testa said.

Testa’s research, if published, most likely will be in the form of an illustrated guidebook that would be used as an introduction to the catacombs.

Of the two sites visited, Testa said the catacombs at Villa Torlonia are more likely to be opened eventually to the public than the catacombs at Vigna Romanini. The catacombs at Torlonia are located under a public park and could be reached more easily than the other site, which is located under privately owned property.

Testa said credit for securing permission from the Superintendency of Antiquities of Rome to study the catacombs goes to a colleague, Jonathon Goldstein of West Georgia College, Carrollton, Ga.

Grants from the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation in New York City and NIU supported Testa’s research. The Littauer Foundation “funds projects that support the dissemination of Jewish culture,” said Testa.