Mitreo di Capodimonte

TNMM 803

In August 1991, the Archaeological Group active in the town of Marta, on Lake Bolsena, informed me of the presence of a cavity with unique architectural features located near the ancient center of Bisenzio, a territory now belonging to the nearby municipality of Capodimonte, a short distance from Marta itself.

A subsequent survey of the area provided the opportunity for a direct view of the monument, followed by the pleasant surprise of encountering a new archaeological find of great value for historical-religious documentation regarding the late antique phase of the Roman settlement of Visentium. The discovery concerns a Mithraic sanctuary carved grotto-style into a tuff cliff that directly overlooks the waters of Lake Bolsena, only a few dozen meters away. The importance of this cult complex is further enhanced by the simultaneous new discovery, made near the Mithraic sanctuary, of a Christian catacomb, recently published. The Mithraeum, according to Giuseppe Biamonte, remains unpublished to this day, although it seems to have been known for some time. A reference to the monument, mentioned only as a “probable Mithraeum,” appears in the aforementioned article about the Christian cemetery.

The good state of preservation of the complex, whose characteristics seem to align perfectly with the scenographic framework tied to the Mithraic conception of the grotto, allows for a presentation—albeit summary—of the monument. It should be noted, however, that only an investigation supported by thorough cleaning, or better yet a proper excavation, especially in the entrance area of the spelaeum, which is significantly buried, will provide a more accurate and detailed interpretation of the material data.

Despite the significant burial, the perimeter of what seems to be a sort of “platea” made of tuff, vaguely trapezoidal in shape and measuring over 6 square meters, barely visible to the right of the entrance, suggests the presence of a vestibulum.

The Mithraeum, with a quadrangular layout and an approximate east-west orientation, measures over 11 meters in length, with a width varying between 5.60 and 5.70 meters and a maximum height of about 2.50 meters. Just inside the grotto, the space extends along a central corridor 1.90 meters wide, flanked by the two usual podia or praesepia, which are of unequal lengths: the southwest one, to the left of the entrance, is longer than the other, measuring 8.10 meters versus the approximately 7.50 meters of the opposite one. This difference might be explained by the presence of the presumed vestibule to the right of the entrance.

—Giuseppe Biamonte, 1997