Reproduction of catacomb paintings in postcards and their use as museum tools between the nineteenth and the twentieth century: the case of the catacomb of Calixtus

Abstract

This article presents a set of old postcards of the catacombs of Callixtus and an unpublished tourist booklet belonging to the same timeframe. It analyses them from the point of view of heritage tourism, history of archaeology, pilgrimage and promotion of Rome’s cultural heritage. It compares them to other postcards on themes of Christian archaeology and introduces these objects as a wider phenomenon for the first time. In particular, it reflects on their role in disseminating the Roman catacombs in tourist circuits in Europe, and in the early Christian revival that spread across the continent between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The article will provide a more detailed reading of postcards as an object contributing to the dissemination of Catholic imagery and cultural heritage at the dawn of international mass tourism.