The Archaeological Area of the Monumental Necropolis of Avella is a place of historical interest, located in via Tombe Romane.
Belonging to unknown families of the local aristocracy, the funerary monuments are lined up along the exit roads that led to the neighbouring towns. Dating from the late Hellenistic and early imperial periods, the tombs were built with the opus incertum technique, in local limestone, terracotta bricks and grey tuff, used above all for external cladding.
Typical 'a dado' sepulchral monuments, i.e. with a square plan, consist of two superimposed bodies: the lower quadrangular part, which rests on protruding bricks, and the upper, cylindrical part, ending in a cusp or surmounted by an aedicule. The sepulchral cell, with a rectangular plan and barrel vault, is contained in the lower body and has a very low entrance; Its peculiar small size allowed it to contain only the grave goods and the cinerary urns, characterizing, in fact, the Avella mausoleums compared to those found elsewhere. Vases, plants and various ornaments dedicated to the dead were placed In the enclosures surrounding the monuments of the complex in Casale.
The architecture of the Roman tombs of Avella, although common to that of other monuments used for similar functions and found in the Campania region, represents an exemplary testimony for the reconstruction of funeral rites in the classical era.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.