Massa Martana and the Catacombs: Umbria's Only Early Christian Necropolis

The Via Flaminia was for centuries the corridor linking Rome to the Adriatic. Midway along it, in the Umbrian hills between the Tiber and the Martani Mountains, stood the statio ad Martis: a Roman rest and supply centre that over the centuries became Massa Martana. The legacy of that ancient traffic is still legible in the landscape, for those who know where to look.

The catacombs: the only ones in Umbria

Few know that Umbria has its own catacombs. They are located along the route of the ancient Flaminia, near the Ponte Fonnaia — a Roman bridge built in 220 BC that is still standing. The catacombs of Massa Martana, carved into the tuff during the early Christian centuries, contain over three hundred burial chambers with Latin inscriptions, fragmentary frescoes, and wall niches. Access is limited and by reservation only: the absence of mass tourism preserves them in an atmosphere of genuine contemplation.

Three Romanesque abbeys

Within a five-kilometre radius of the village stand three Romanesque abbeys. Santa Maria in Pantano — from the sixth-seventh century — preserves reused Roman capitals and an apse of rare simplicity. The Abbey of Santa Maria in Viepri, from 1150, has a double gable facade and a bare interior that moves with its very nakedness. The Abbey of San Faustino, built on a first-century Roman villa, still retains the original opus spicatum floor.

The Ponte Fonnaia

The Ponte Fonnaia is one of the best-preserved Roman bridges in central Italy: three stone arches, built in 220 BC when the censor Flaminius extended the consular road northward. It is reachable on foot from the centre of Massa Martana in about ten minutes, along a path through the countryside. Access is free.

When to go

Massa Martana is 30 kilometres from Todi and 40 from Spoleto. Spring is the best season: the Martani Mountains landscape is covered in anemones and broom. The village is part of the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy and can be visited in half a day, combining it with the abbeys in the surroundings.