Catacombs of Rome

Discover Rome's hidden layers of history beneath its streets. Travel by an air-conditioned coach and use skip-the-line access directly into three fascinating archaeological finds. Visit the Capuchin Crypt on an audio guide tour. Capuchin monks used the bones of their nearly 4,000 brothers to intricately decorate the floor-to-ceiling designs, lending it the macabre nickname of "the Bone Chapel". From here you’ll be driven on a comfortable coach to the hallowed catacombs where, beneath their persecutors’ feet, early Christians practiced their forbidden faith. Almost 2,000 years ago, this network of secret tunnels doubled as a place of worship and burial ground. As you explore tombs made of solid rock, your local expert guide will describe the intriguing history of this sacred spot. Next, travel to the Basilica of San Martino ai Monti, one of Rome’s best-kept secrets. Dating back to the 4th century, this historic church is built over ancient Roman foundations and reveals the city’s layered religious past. Inside, you'll find breathtaking Baroque frescoes, ancient mosaics, and remnants of a titulus,an early Christian worship site. Don’t miss the chance to explore the underground chambers, where centuries of faith and history come to life. You can also choose our Exclusive "After Hours" tour of the Capuchin Crypts and Rome Catacombs for a unique underground adventure. Explore ancient burial sites, hidden tunnels, and macabre relics in a spine-chilling journey beneath the city. Open your eyes to the city’s hidden side – and you’ll never see Rome the same way again.

Discover one of the largest underground burial sites in Rome with an entry ticket to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. Explore the complex on a guided tour and learn about the martyrs, popes, and Christians buried here. Meet your guide and set out to explore the oldest official cemetery of Rome's Christian community. Hear where the complex gets its name and learn about its expansive size. Visit the Crypt of the Popes, where 9 popes and 3 bishops were laid to rest. Then, head to the adjoining room to see the Crypt of St. Cecilia, a Roman matron remembered for ensuring that many martyrs received a proper burial. Marvel at some of the oldest frescoes to decorate the walls in Rome's catacombs and visit Area I, where the cubicles of the sacraments are located. Leave your underground tour with a deeper understanding of Rome's early Christian communities and their burial traditions. 

Uncover what lies below the surface and discover 3 of Rome's most significant archaeological sites, the Capuchin Crypts, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, and the Appian Way. Enjoy the comfort of skip-the-line entry and airconditioned transport throughout the tour. Begin your day by meeting your guide near Piazza Barberini, ready to dive into a truly spine-tingling experience. Start your journey at the Capuchin Crypt, a hauntingly beautiful site decorated with the bones of thousands of Capuchin friars. Unravel the captivating history behind this unique ossuary, revealing the friars' fascinating views on life, death, and eternity as you walk through its eerie chambers known as the five Bone Chapels. Head to the Roman Catacombs and admire the cemeteries from ground level before descending into the extensive underground catacombs. Learn about the martyrs and pontiffs laid to rest here, admire impeccably preserved paintings, and see the crypts of 3rd-century popes. On your way back to Rome, pass by the impressive Aurelian Wall and learn about the extensive history of the Appian Way, a vital artery during the time of the Roman Empire. End your unforgettable tour with an exciting test of courage at Rome’s legendary Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth). Dare to place your hand inside this ancient marble face, said to bite off the hands of liars! Will you speak the truth or risk facing its mythical wrath? Then, step into the serene beauty of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, a hidden gem where history comes alive. Explore the stunning church and discover the Crypt of Pope Hadrian I, an eerie and fascinating resting place that adds a touch of mystery to your Roman adventure. For an unforgettable, exclusive experience, choose our VIP After-Hours option for a private visit to the Catacombs. Enjoy last-entry access to the Capuchin Crypts and explore the Catacombs after hours, where you and your group will follow an expert guide through a labyrinth of ancient burial sites and eerie tunnels as night falls.

Embark on a fascinating underground tour of the Catacombs, taking you into the unusual history of Rome. Head far below its busy streets and towering monuments to the concealed side of this ancient city. Follow along as your expert guide tells reveals little-known mysteries of Rome's darker side. Begin your tour at one of the most spectacular centrally located squares in Rome, Venice Square, next to the Townhall. Hop on a panoramic bus and head to the Catacombs, following a roundtrip panoramic route. Begin your underground tour and explore these extensive tunnels lined with tombs carved right out of the rock, and hear the fascinating history of these sacred places. Learn about how dating almost 2,000 years to the 2nd century AD, this extensive network of underground tunnels was once a burial ground and a place of worship for the first Christians in Rome. Combine your tour with the additional option to visit the Trevi district underground guided tour. The guided tour is available only in English and French. Explore the ruins and hidden passages beneath the Trevi district and the surrounding area. Listen all the histories and anecdotes from your guide. Combine your tour with the additional option to visit the fascinating Capuchin Museum and his crypt. Visit on your own the famous Capuchin Crypt in Via Veneto with your audioguide! Learn about the crypt and the remains of the approximately 4,000 friars to decorate the floor-to-ceiling designs, lending it the macabre nickname of "the Bone Chapel". Please note if you want to visit everything in the same day, the first available time for the Capuchin Crypt visit is at 14:45.

With your English Mother-Tongue Guide. You will enter Rome's underground and explore part of the over 180 miles of tunnels underground outside the city's walls. Descend into the secret underground of early Christian Rome. Hear the stories of religious persecutions and the transition from ancient Pagan Rome into Holy-Roman Christian Rome and all the burial rites and rituals that go along with it. Travel off the beaten path into the massive tunnel system and bring ancient Roman society to life, hearing the stories behind the art and architecture. Show you some of the earliest Christian artworks that you have to see before you leave Rome.

The place where the Catacomb of San Sebastiano stands was in ancient times a deep depression, used as a pozzolana quarry and called ad catacumbas (or “near the cavities”), a name that has become synonymous with an underground cemetery. Since the first century, the site has been intensely exploited and built: the underground galleries were reused to obtain burial niches, on the surface, however, several columbaria were built and at least two residential systems (the so-called small villa and large villa) equipped with remarkable pictorial wall decorations. Around the middle of the second century, the bottom of the valley was buried to create a pitch, on one side of which three mausoleums were built in succession (by Clodius Hermes, by the Innocentiores, by the Ax). A further burial of the area was made to give space to the construction of the triclia, a portico bordered by a wall on which numerous graffiti invocations addressed to the SS. Peter and Paul, who were venerated together in this place around 250. On the site, then, the emperor Constantine (306-337) had a basilica in the shape of a Roman circus (called "circiforme"). Meanwhile, already in the third century, the catacomb that housed the tombs of the martyrs Sebastian and Eutichio began to develop underground.

Uncover the secrets hidden the dark depths of the Domitilla catacombs on this guided tour in Rome. Enjoy the convenience of a transfer from a centrally-located meeting point in the city. Learn about early Christian history and see the underground Basilica of Nereus. Meet your guide in the city center and head towards the Appian Way in a comfortable minivan. Reach one of the largest and oldest catacombs of Rome and venture 52 feet (16 meters) below the surface into the otherworldly crypts of Domitilla. Explore its endless maze of underground burial chambers, spread across 4 levels. Be captivated by ancient wall paintings of mythological and biblical figures and discover the religious symbolism of the frescoes. Learn about the shift from paganism to Christianity and hear about early martyrs and persecutions. Live the excitement of gradually exploring different layers of history. Complete your underworld experience in the 4th-century subterranean Basilica of Nereus and Achilleus. Then jump back in the minivan return to the city center.

Take an evocative, fascinating tour down the Appian Way, one of the first streets in Rome. The Ancient Appian Way is also known as the “Queen of the Streets." It crosses the famous Parco degli Acquedotti, an important biological corridor in Rome’s city center, which tells the tale of the history of water in Rome and its related engineering works. In fact, six ancient Roman aqueducts converge here. The Catacombs of St. Callixtus (only in the 5-hour version) St. Callixtus’s Catacombs are part of the so-called Callistian complex, an area of about 30 hectares between the Via Appia Antica, the Via Ardeatina and the Via delle Sette Chiese, in Rome, which houses various funerary areas and catacombs   The rest of the tour takes you down a route that evokes the best of the region’s history, culture and art. Ride on a top-notch and smooth e-bike on a 2,300-year-old meadow and relive the history of the great empire, crossing a unique landscape. Brunch/Aperitif (only in the 5-hour version) A very much deserved break next to the Acqueducts Park awaits you to enjoy a tasty brunch in the morning tour or aperitif in the afternoon.

Located on Via Salaria, the catacomb is spread over two floors and probably takes its name from a Priscilla of the Acili senatorial family, whose name occurs in one of the inscriptions of the hypogeum of the Acili on the first floor. Its origin is different from that of the other catacombs as initially the place was an arenarium, then abandoned. Christians began to use the large and irregular galleries that make up the first floor of the catacomb towards the beginning of the third century, building around twenty niche tombs and digging hundreds of niches in the walls. In an adjacent area there is the cryptoporticus with the Greek Chapel and a large underground environment, born as a noble family burial ground and then connected to the catacomb. Among the martyrs buried in Priscilla we remember the brothers Felice and Filippo, who were martyred, probably under Diocletian, together with their mother St. Felicita and the other five brothers Alessandro, Marziale, Vitale, Silano and Gennaro. Numerous popes were also buried in Priscilla: Marcellino (296-304), Marcello (308-309), Silvestro (314-335), Liberius (352-366), Siricius (384-399), Celestino (422-432) and Vigilius (537-555). In the hypogeum of the Acili, originally a cistern of water, the inscriptions of the Acili have been found and exhibited. Inside Villa Ada there is the Basilica built by Pope St. Silvestro in correspondence with the tomb of Felice and Filippo. In an area near the basilica a Museum has been set up which collects hundreds of fragments of sarcophagi found during the excavations in the area of the catacomb.

Indulge in all things Ancient Roman on this Ancient Appian Way and Park of the Aqueducts E-bike tour. Ride through the Roman countryside, discover the engineering genius of the ancient Romans and learn about the early Christian history - all superimposed in the fascinating open-air museum that is the Appian Way Park. Meet your guide and go through St. Sebastian's gate in the Aurelian Walls to enter the Ancient Appian Way - a 2,300-year old thoroughfare that tells the story of Rome's rise, golden age, and decline. In the 6-hour tour, make a stop underground at the Catacombs of St. Callixtus (or St. Sebastian) for a guided visit through its crypts and corridors. In the 4-hour tour, make a short stop at the entrance of the Catacombs for a brief explanation of their history and significance. Next, cycle further on the Appian Way, passing mausoleums, tombstones, and sprawling villas of ancient aristocracy, as you enjoy the stillness of this picturesque landscapes before you. Finally, head to the Park of the Aqueducts, where stretches of colossal arches rise against the warm afternoon light. After following these aqueducts back to modern civilization, cross the green Caffarella Valley. At its exit, you will begin your short ride back to the starting point - but not without one last highlight.