Iulia Florentina’s burial in Catania: urban and suburban religious spaces in connection

This contribution examines the burial of the child Iulia Florentina in fourth-century Catania and investigates the relationship between funerary practices, martyr cults, and the sacralization of suburban space in late antique Sicily. Through a close analysis of the famous Christian epitaph of Iulia Florentina, the study reconsiders the meaning of the expression "pro foribus martyrum" and challenges the traditional interpretation that linked the burial directly to a specific martyrial church. Instead, the paper argues that the inscription refers more broadly to a suburban funerary area sanctified by the presence of martyrs’ remains. By integrating epigraphic, archaeological, and topographical evidence, the contribution reconstructs the development of the north-western cemetery district of Roman Catania and highlights the early diffusion of burial practices connected to martyr devotion outside Rome. Particular attention is devoted to the role of Christian memory, the cult of local martyrs, and the gradual transformation of the boundary between the “city of the living” and the “city of the dead”. The case of Iulia Florentina thus provides important evidence for understanding the emergence of sacred funerary landscapes and Christian identity in late antique Sicily.