meghana1

We took the Scavi tour in mid-Dec with two teens and we are not at all religious. Would it not be worth going?

tuscanlifeedit

IMO, it depends on your interests and tolerances. I would think that the historical significance of the excavations alone would make the visit worthwhile, even with no religious leanings. That said, our guide built her narrative toward establishing proof that the bones of St. Peter were found there.

She included a good amount of information about the early Chritians and the site. My husband enjoyed it very much. I am claustrophobic and the tour was a bit long for me.

I'm not sure if it's the same as it was when we took the tour, but an advantage was that we went right into the basilica at the end of the tour with no waiting for further security.

I'm glad that I went, but I love experiencing Rome in depth.

geetika

I agree with tuscanlift, the historical part of the tour is the draw, not the religious aspect. In fact, we aren't Christians but I'd do the Scavi again in a heartbeat.

Our guide was an American priest who was extremely objective in explaining the story of St Peter's bones, he just stated the facts and let us draw our own conclusions.

It got pretty hot and stuffy when we went, though that was during a June heat wave, December should be very pleasant.

bvlenci

I think the temperature inside doesn't vary much. It's always very humid and rather stuffy.

You can get an idea of the tour at this interactive site:

http://www.vatican.va/various/basili...i_english.html

I've done the tour twice. As a historical site, it's interesting, but not the most interesting in Rome. As a religious site, I actually would recommend one of the catacombs, especially the St. Agnes catacomb (which is in a whole complex of proto-Christian significance) or the Priscilla catacomb (which has splendid early Christian frescoes).

The historical value is that you can see an ancient Roman pagan cemetery, with tombs lining an ancient path. There are a few painted tombs you can look into. The tops of the tombs were all lopped off to level the ground for the building of the first basilica.

There is no question as to the fact that St. Peter was originally buried here after his crucifixion. His burial spot is very clearly marked, but there are no bones in the tomb now. It's known that his remains (and those of St. Paul) were removed to the catacomb of Santo Stefano during an early invasion of the city, and later brought back. There are some human bones near the original tomb, but slightly higher and set back, and this is what the dispute is about. Those who believe these are St. Peter's bones say that they were probably moved to that spot to hide them from view in the case of a new invasion. Scientific examinations are said to have confirmed that they were the bones of a middle-aged man from the 1st century.

I'm a Christian, and to see the spot where St. Peter was buried has a significance for me even if those bones are not his. In general, I'm not much into relics.

The tour itself depends a lot on the guide you get. The first time, our guide presented both the facts that tend to confirm as well as the facts that tend to dispute that the bones found there are those of St. Peter. The second guide was much more convinced of their authenticity, and her fervor actually increased my doubts.

You don't actually get to see the tomb or the place where the bones are. You observe the spot from below, because they say that to open it up more would risk the whole thing falling down. At the end of the tour, you go up into the crypt of the Basilica, and enter the little chapel whose altar is above the tomb. Looking down, you can see a little light that marks the spot of the bones, but I could really see only the light. (Some people claim to have seen the actual relics, but neither guide I had claimed they were visible.) The present altar of St. Peter's Basilica is precisely above this older altar, which is precisely above the original tomb.

The little chapel is open in the front, so anyone can see the altar, but there is usually a barrier preventing people from entering. There are kneelers at the opening of the chapel so people can pray there. For someone religious, it would probably be sufficient to visit the chapel from the crypt without taking the tour. You'd miss seeing the little light.

If your interest is in ancient tombs, the Etruscan tombs in Tarquinia (at the necropolis and in the museum) and the necropolis at Cerveteri would probably be more interesting. There are also two painted Roman tombs on display at the Museum of the Baths of Diocletian, near Termini station. These are in the hall of the ancient baths, to your left as you enter the museum complex. They were moved there for safekeeping from a site in Testaccio (if I remember correctly). The ticket to this museum also gives you entrance to three other sites of the National Roman Museum, including the nearby Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, which is one of the world's greatest museums of ancient Roman art and artifacts.

Marija

Agree completely with previous poster. Unlike the catacombs and Tarquinia which we really enjoyed, we found the much hyped Scavi tour underwhelming.

denisea

I thought is was interesting. I am not religious but understanding how the Vatican was built and how different the current structures are from the first, was interesting to us. It was humid and if you are claustrophobic, it might be challenging. I am not sorry we went.

Underhill

bvlenci,

Thanks for an excellent and informative post.

Leely2

I am an atheist (but a cultural Christian, I suppose). I've gone on the Vatican Scavi tour twice and enjoyed it both times, although as a poster above noted, the capabilities of your guide can affect your experience. One time we had a rather dry, quiet guide/priest, and his tour was a little more boring than the more effusive, dramatic, natural orator priest/guide we had the other time.

julies

We are not at all religious but are definitely interested in the cultural and historic significance of the tour. For us, it helped to tie together many of the other pieces of history of Rome and the Christians.

As mentioned above, Tarquinia is fascinating and definitely lesser visited and lesser known.