Catacomb of the Iordani

It was rediscovered in 1720 by the archaeologists Marcantonio Boldetti and Giovanni Marangoni, but it was initially mistaken for the catacomb of Trasone.

This confusion lasted until 1966, when the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology's excavation allowed it to be identified as the catacomb of the Giordani, mainly thanks to the discovery of the crypt containing the remains of the martyr Alexander, which several ancient literary sources state was "in the cemetery of the Iordanii".

The same literary sources mention the remains of the martyrs Martial and Vitale as being buried in the same cemetery as Alexander's - all of them were traditionally held to be sons of Felicitas of Rome.

The Martyrologium Hieronymianum adds that seven virgin martyrs (Donata, Paolina, Rogata, Dominanda, Serotina, Saturnina and Hilaria) were buried in the same tomb as Alexander and his brothers on 31 December.

The Notitia ecclesiarum urbis Romae states that the site had an above-ground basilica dedicated to the martyrs Martial and Vitale - nothing now remains of that building, but its ruins were seen at the end of the 16th century by Antonio Bosio.