Explore eerie underground sites, buried churches and stunning catacombs beneath Rome
Price 89 €
(111 Reviews)
Underground Rome and Catacombs Tour by Minivan
starting time 08:30 AM
duration 3.5 hours
group size Max. 15
To understand the Eternal City, we have to dig downwards. Hidden deep beneath the streets and squares of Rome is another city, a neglected underground world of eerie pagan temples and Christian catacombs, buried churches and atmospheric crypts. Our Underground Rome itinerary is a fascinating journey into this haunting subterranean world, where we uncover the lost faces of a city obliterated by time. Journey back to the origins of Christianity in the labyrinthine Roman catacombs of Domitilla and explore an ancient temple of the mysterious bull-slaughtering cult of Mithraism; descend into a perfectly preserved Early-Christian church hidden beneath San Clemente and wander through a subterranean ancient Roman house decorated with fabulous paintings, gardens and fountains. This is a Rome few visitors get to see – experience it for yourself!
*** All participants 18 and over must book as adults, there is no older student discount available for this itinerary ***
Tour includes:
Highlights:
There is another Rome underneath the city we know and love, a silent and humble city beneath the majestic monuments to Renaissance and Baroque architecture. There are centuries of history buried in the subterranean layers beneath the city’s churches and in the tunnels running through the Roman Catacombs – visit them with us on a captivating journey into the bowels of the earth. Travelling by minivan with a maximum of 15 people, you will discover surprising underground sites and the best preserved (as well as the least crowded) Catacombs in Rome. Join our specialist guide and find out why Through Eternity's Underground Rome tour has been selected as one of the best walking tours in the world by Independent Traveler!
San Clemente is a very beautiful 12th-century basilica with wonderful mosaics: one of the most unique represents the Crucified Christ surrounded by beautiful trees and doves. No less impressive is the Cappella di Santa Caterina (Chapel of St. Catherine), where you can see some of the earliest surviving Renaissance frescoes in Rome by Masaccio and Masolino dating from the early 1400s.
But that is only the beginning of the riches you will discover: a small stairway takes us to a perfectly preserved lower basilica dating from the 4th century AD, where amazing medieval frescoes recount fascinating Christian legends - including the life of St. Clement himself. When the time came, for various practical reasons, to provide a new structure for their congregation, those in charge of the work came up with a novel idea. Rather than move to a new site or destroy the beautiful but outdated basilica, they would simply build on top of it, thus preserving its treasures even whilst concealing it from the light of day. Now fully excavated, we can only be thankful for their foresight, an amazing example of conservationism from 900 years ago.
Another little staircase takes you to a third underground level catapulting us back into the very first century AD: some of the rooms of this layer were part of an apartment block that extended over several floors, separated from another large building (perhaps the state mint) by a narrow street still visible today. The many decorations and relief sculptures that refer to the ritual killing of a bull and to the celestial constellations testify to the fact that one of these spaces was used by the followers of the cult of Mithras at the start of the 3rd century – while a Christian sect met only a few meters away.
This is not as surprising as you might think: from the beginning of the 1st century both these religions were widely followed in Rome and throughout the empire. Their similarities are also noteworthy: both celebrated ritual banquets with water and wine, and both encouraged the faithful to engage in morally correct behavior in order to reach salvation in a world beyond. Near the mithraeum are 6th century funereal remains complete with sarcophagi, early Christian symbols, and much more.
Not far from the Colosseum, the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Saints John and Paul) preserves a corner of the middle ages beautifully intact, with a monastery and a bell tower built over the imposing ruins of a temple dedicated to the emperor Claudius. Descending into the underground level below the Basilica, we find ourselves magically experiencing the atmosphere of Roman houses dating back to the 2nd century AD, decorated with beautiful antique frescoes.
The earliest complex consisted of a little uphill street and two houses, boasting elegant pagan frescoes and a small garden with a pool. Their story evolved in the 4th century when the space was transformed in a grand domus (the house of a rich Roman) incorporating the pre-existing buildings. The owners of this domus were in all likelihood the titular martyrs Giovanni and Paolo, as suggested by the decorations of the frescoes entailing touching Christian symbols.
According to the historical evidence, a small church was built over their tombs in the 5th century where the faithful venerated their relics. With the passage of time the underlying part of the basilica was completely covered and forgotten: the first excavations began in 1887, and the buried areas have only recently become accessible once again.
The Catacombs of Santa Domitilla can lay a strong claim to being the best preserved early Christian catacombs of Rome. As well as exploring these captivating subterranean caves, we’ll discover the only surviving underground Basilica in Rome dating back to the 4th century A.D, named after the martyrs Nereo and Achilleo who are buried here.
Stretching over 17 kilometers and containing over 150,000 bodies, it is certainly the largest Christian catacombs in Rome. Marvelling at a beautifully preserved 2nd-century fresco depicting the Last Supper featuring Christ surrounded by the 12 Apostles, we’ll learn about the roots of Christianity’s most enduring rites and rituals. Enjoy the stories of piety from Christians of the early centuries, their life during persecution in the troubled period of transition from Pagan Rome to the Christian city.
Join us on what has become one of our most popular group tours of Rome over the last ten years, and treat yourself to a unique and fascinating insight into a rarely seen side of the Eternal City.
We provide skip-the-line entry tickets for the Catacombs and the other underground sites visited on this tour. All tickets are included in the price.
The history of Christian Rome is tightly connected with the pagan ancient world – we recommend pairing this Underground Rome itinerary with our Ultimate Colosseum tour in order to understand how ancient Rome became the capital of Christendom in these dramatic centuries of change.
If you’d like to read more about the Basilica of Saint Clement, check out this fascinating entry from our blog. Or click here to learn more about the fascinating story of the Catacombs of Santa Domitilla in Rome!
meeting point
Near the entrance to the Basilica of San Clemente. You will receive full details, including a map and photo, on booking.5.0 (111 reviews)
Our family took the Underground Rome and Catacombs Tour by Minivan with Ricardo. It was supposed to be semi-private with up to 15 people, but we had it all to ourselves. The catacombs were absolutely amazing and Ricardo knew so much about them. We got to see some phenomenal early Christian art work and even some remaining bones from before the catacombs were raided. Afterwards we took the van to the Roman House's. It was so interesting to see how the farther in you got, the more apparent the Christian art became. Yet again, Ricardo was so knowledgeable about them. Any question we had he answered right away. Not only that, but he was incredibly enthusiastic and seemed just as interested as us even though he said he'd done this tour tons of times. He then took us to the Basilica of San Clementi. It was absolutely breathtaking, and had such an interesting history that I won't spoil in this review. The architecture and art were incredible to see, especially for someone interested in art history. We went downstairs of the church and headed to the archeological sites, including a Mithraic temple. Just like usual, Ricardo was incredibly well versed on this and the whole archeological site. He presented us with proven facts, and with hypothesis' on what things may be. I can't even begin to describe how amazing he was. I was entertained the entire 3 hours, and could have stayed for many more just chatting with him about history. He really made our tour and our Rome trip in general. This tour was easily the best thing we did in Rome, and I would highly recommend it. We've taken two other tours with Through Eternity: The Colosseum Tour with Palatine Hill and the Roman forum, and Essential Sistine Chapel Tour, Vatican Museums & St. Peter's Basilica. Both of these tours were amazing, and I highly recommend them as well. Our guides were great, and were even able to make the blistering Italian sun an afterthought with all the amazing information they were feeding us. If you only have a day in Rome though, the catacombs tour is by far my favorite and made our entire trip for us. Through Eternity is a wonderful company, and every tour we've taken has been fantastic. They are communicative and straight forward with directions. Taking a tour with this company 100% helps to tone down the fear of "Oh no, am I in the wrong place? What if I miss my tour?". Thank you so much for the amazing experience, I am already dreaming of coming back! Yet again, a huge thank you to Ricardo; he was the best guide I've ever had and so sweet! If there is anyway to request a guide, request him! He was easily the highlight of our trip.
We were so fortunate to have a guide of the quality of Thomas Robinson for this tour. Thomas was incredibly knowledgable, passionate, and brilliant at bringing history to life. He was excellent at telling the stories behind the facts, and expertly connected the locations with one another. The tour is a combination of archaeology, architecture, religion, and the people of Rome through various ages. Thomas was engaging, insightful and funny throughout the tour, and volunteered to stay on once the tour had finished to answer any final questions. Afterwards we felt like we had a much better understanding not only of the locations we visited but Rome in general.
89 €