A visit to Rome’s catacombs is a cultural pilgrimage to explore the underground excavations of Rome in ancient and Christian times.
Around the city of Rome, there are over sixty catacombs and thousands of tombs, some dating back over 2000 years. Rome’s catacombs were built along the consular roads – the road network created by the Romans – by Jews and Christians, and only six of them can be visited today: the catacombs of Saint Calixtus, Saint Sebastian, Domitilla, Priscilla and Saint Agnes, and the catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter.
Here are a few things you should know before visiting Rome’s catacombs:
The catacombs of Saint-Calixte
Photo credit: Wikimedia – Dnalor 01
Located on the Via Appia, they are the largest in Rome: a 20-kilometer network, 20 meters deep, spread over 15 hectares and four levels! Dating back to the middle of the second century, they are the burial place of dozens of martyrs, 16 popes and over 500,000 faithful Christians.
Administered by the priest Calixtus, this Roman catacomb became the official cemetery of the Church of Rome. Two basilicas and three apses make it easily recognizable on the earth’s surface. It covers the Crypt of the Popes – nicknamed « Little Vatican » because 9 Popes and 8 dignitaries of the 3rd-century Catholic Church are buried here – and the Crypt of Saint Cecilia.
To visit Rome’s catacombs is to revisit the corridors of time and admire the frescoes painted by the Christians who used symbols engraved in the walls of the crypts to profess their faith.
How to visit the catacombs of Saint Calixte?
The Catacombs of Saint Calixte are open all year round, except on Wednesdays, December 25, January 1 and Easter Sunday.
Visiting hours are: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
Tickets (including guided tour) cost €8.00 (full price) and €5.00 (reduced price).
Address: Via Appia Antica, 110/126, 00179 Rome
The catacombs of San Sebastian
Photo credit: Wikimedia – Lalupa
Named after the Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century, they were founded in the 14th century B.C. The Saint-Sébastien complex ceased to serve as a cemetery in the 5th century A.D.
It has four floors and between 90,000 and 120,000 tombs. There are frescoes with ornaments typical of the early Christians, such as an orant, the story of Jonah (4th century) and the miracle of Saint Gerasus. The Piazzola, the entrance to the catacombs, houses three mausoleums preserved by time: pagan monuments reused by Christians.
How to visit San Sebastian’s catacombs?
The San Sebastiano Catacombs are open Monday to Saturday (closed on Sundays). Closed all December and January 1.
Visiting hours: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tickets (including guided tour) cost €8.00 (full price) and €5.00 (reduced price).
Address: Via Appia Antica, 136, Appio Pignatelli district, Rome
Domitille’s catacombs
Photo credit: Wikimedia – Dnalor 01
They date from the second century, and bear the name of Flavia Domitilla – Aurelia Petronilla – niece of Flavius Clemens, a consul of Rome in 95. The latter was condemned to death by Emperor Domitian (51-96) for having Christian sympathies, and sentenced his wife and niece to exile in the Pontine Islands. The cemeteries also include the graves of Nereus and Achilles, soldiers who fell victim to Diocletian’s persecution (244-311).
The underground galleries stretch for 12 kilometers, still contain bones – the only one – and include 80 painted tombs, making it one of the largest collections of painted catacombs. Visitors can admire an incredibly well-preserved fresco dating from the second century.
How to visit the Domitilla catacombs?
The Domitille Catacombs are open every day except Tuesday. Closed from mid-December to mid-January and at Easter.
Opening hours: 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm.
Tickets (including guided tour) cost €8.00 (full price) and €5.00 (reduced price).
Address: Via delle Sette Chiese, 282, 00147 Rome
Priscilla’s catacombs
Developed from the second to the 4th century, they are the best-preserved on the Via Salaria, named after a noblewoman, a member of the senatorial Acilii family, who is said to have owned, founded or donated the cemetery.
Numerous inscriptions mentioning the apostles Peter and Paul appear on the walls, as do frescoes evoking the Old and New Testaments. Seven popes from the 3rd to 6th centuries are also buried here.
How to visit the catacombs of Priscilla?
The Catacombs of Priscilla are open every day except Monday. They are closed from mid-August to mid-September (please enquire on site), as well as on January 1, December 25 and Easter.
Visiting hours are 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm.
Tickets (including guided tour) cost €8.00 (full price) and €5.00 (reduced price).
Address: Via Salaria, 430, 00199 Roma
The catacombs of Saint Agnes
Agnes, a 12-year-old Christian martyr, was buried on the Via Nomentana, in a hypogeum belonging to her family. The causes of her death vary: she was either tortured by fire, had her throat cut or was decapitated. A violent death that would have aroused the veneration of the faithful, including the family of Emperor Constantine.
The catacomb apse is adorned with a mosaic depicting Agnes between Popes Honorius and Symmachus.
How to visit the catacombs of Saint Agnes?
The Catacombs of Saint Agnes are open every day (except mornings on religious holidays). The catacombs are closed from October 22 to November 17 inclusive, as well as on Sunday mornings, public holidays and in November.
Opening hours: 9am-12pm and 4pm-6pm
Tickets (including guided tour) cost €8.00 (full price) and €5.00 (reduced price).
Address: Via Nomentana, 349, 00162, Rome
The catacombs of Saints Marcellin and Peter
Galleries dating back to the time of Emperor Diocletian (51-96), where Saints Peter and Marcellin lived. They were martyred by the emperor and beheaded in Rome, where they were forced to dig their own graves by hand before being executed.
The underground cemetery covers an area of 18,000 m², and is home to over 15,000 graves. The gravestones are reminiscent of funerary niches, signs used by early Christians to practice their faith.
How to visit the catacombs of Saints Marcellin and Peter?
The Catacombs of Saints Marcellin and Peter are open every day except Thursday. They are closed on December 25, January 1 and Easter Sunday, and from August 15 to 30.
Opening hours: 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm
Tickets (including guided tour) cost €8.00 (full price) and €5.00 (reduced price). Reservations are essential: tel. 06.2419446 e-mail: santimarcellinoepietro@gmail.com
Address: Via Casilina, 641, 00177, Rome
Common practical information
To visit Rome’s catacombs, the opening times are often the same, but the days and dates of closure differ from place to place. To visit Rome’s catacombs with peace of mind, it’s best to book your ticket in advance. An excursion including a visit to the catacombs and basilicas is available from €50.
The history of catacombs in ancient Rome
Catacombs are not exclusively Christian. Pagans, Phoenicians and Jews were already using them, long before the development of the Roman Empire. Visiting Rome’s catacombs is like walking through a Gruyère.
On the outskirts of Rome, Etruscans, Jewish communities and Christians reserved underground burial grounds for their dead, from the end of the second century BC to the first centuries AD. These are deep, interlocking galleries, sometimes five storeys high. Around the Italian capital, there are said to be up to 900 kilometers of galleries, 22 meters below ground level.
The law of the Roman Empire forbade the burial of bodies in the imperial city for sanitary reasons, to guard against the proliferation of disease. So they cremated their dead, and Roman roads were dotted with patrician tombs – citizens belonging to the nobility – whose ashes were preserved in urns. But Christians believed that bodies should be buried without cremation, so as to be ready for the resurrection. The bodies were therefore buried in underground cavities in tuff, a layer of volcanic sediment in the ground.
The most commonly accepted theory is that Christians and Jews developed these catacombs to escape persecution. The purpose of these hypogeum cemeteries would have been to bury the faithful side by side, rather than to lay them to rest with their loved ones. These cemeteries were created exclusively to avoid the cremation imposed by Roman law.
Other scientists believe they were used for clandestine meetings underground to honor the dead and to escape the empire’s police, the Praetorian Guard.
After the fall of Rome, the catacombs were venerated for over 400 years (400-800) as authentic shrines to the Christian martyrs, and became a place of pilgrimage to pray beside the tombs. When Italy was invaded by the Goths and Lombards – called « Barbarians » by the Romans – the catacombs were plundered, ransacked, destroyed and then abandoned. Over the centuries, vegetation blocked the entrances to the cemeteries, and even the Christians of the Middle Ages lost track of them. Their rediscovery was made possible by Antonio Bosio (1575-1629) and, much later, by the excavations of Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894), founder of Christian archaeology.
Main photo credit: Flickr – Jacek Jankowski