THE CHRISTIAN MUSEUM.
Entrance to the right in the court. Fee, half a franc.
Founded by Pius IX., and composed of Christian antiquities. There are many bas-reliefs, fragments, inscriptions, mosaics, &c., worthy of admiration.
The Corridor, upstairs, is decorated with Christian inscriptions from the Catacombs. The oldest is A.D. 238. They relate to persons, dogmas, rites, and ranks of the clergy of the early Christians.
From the end of the corridor on the left two rooms open out, ornamented with copies of frescoes found in the Catacombs.
Sometimes the entrance is made from the court through the
Long Hall.—Sitting statue of S. Hippolitus, found near S. Lorenzo fuori le mura. On the chair is the Paschal Calendar in Greek, composed A.D. 223, and a list of Hippolitus's writings.
Landing of the Stairs.—Bas-relief of Elijah ascending to heaven. This hall is decorated with a number of sarcophagi of the early Christians, found in the early churches and catacombs. They are placed so as to illustrate how the tombs were situated in the vestibules of the catacombs.
From the Loggia upstairs we enter the