It may sound strange to say that visiting a crypt was like a breath of fresh air. But that it how I felt when I went down to visit the Crypt of the Frescoes in Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta in Aquileia. Instead of being a dark and dreary room full of dead people, the crypt was instead a brightly lit room whose ceiling is painted with colorful frescoes. The frescoes show images of the origins of Christianity in Aquileia as well as their very own saint Hermagoras. I didn’t pay much attention to exactly what scenes are being depicted there but it was a nice change from constantly looking down on the floor at the very impressive Roman mosaics of the basilica.

In what I think is the front of the crypt, that is, the one which is in the direction of the main door of the basilica, there is a little exhibit of some sort. There are three containers which are enclosed in metal enclosures to prevent theft and vandalism. I didn’t think too much of them until I paid a little closer attention and discovered that these were relics of the local saints – Hermagoras and Fortunatus. I don’t know much about the story of these two saints but they have their bones preserved and displayed here inside the crypt for anyone who wants to venerate them. I always thought that this practice was strange. In my opinion, you only need your faith to believe. At most, relics like these serve as tools to find your faith. In fairness, practices like these were more common way back then. I don’t think it is as common these days.

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