Roman Catacombs
 

Help! Please assist me with a sage reason NOT to visit the Roman Catacombs. Something besides, "Blah! Why would anyone want to do that?" ; ) I've been to the Catacombs in Paris and would never want to return.

I will be meeting a group in Rome who are interested in touring the catacombs there. Why they would want to do this when there is so much to do above ground is beyond me but I don't want to be a party-pooper and not go along.

Are the Roman Catacombs different than the Parisian variety? What would I be missing if I went elsewhere and met the group later?

kakalena

why don't you tell us what you disliked about the Paris catacombs?

I have not been to the Paris catacombs yet, but have looked into them a bit for our trip to Paris this March. We went to the Roman Catacombs last March and they were a highlight of the trip. From what I have read about the Paris catacombs they are damp, dark and a lot of bones and steps to climb.

The Roman Catacombs do not have any bones in them. You get to see a lot of the niches and artwork that was on them. They were fairly well lit. You must go down with a guide. We had a wonderful Irish priest who took us down. The history alone is worth the visit. We are returning to Rome this June and are looking forward to visiting other catacombs.

Much of Rome's fascinating history is underground: Nero's Golden House, Church of San Clemente, Mammertime Prison.

I know I didn't help you with why NOT to go. However, I expect the experience will be different.

jgg - please give me info about which catacombs you visited. I'm going in May and my friends have put visiting the catacombs at the top of their priority list of sights. Thanks!

My daughter and I went to San Callisto catacombs with Vastours which we booked after we arrived in Rome. They pick you up at your hotel and return you there. I am sure there is a bus that would probably get you there,but this would be much easier than figuring out the way to get out there. When we arrived there was a guide on site that took you down into the catacombs. I found it very interesting and do not feel it is a waste of time.
I have not been to the Parisian variety so I cannot compare. On this tour we also went to San Giovanni and Santa Maria Maggiore basicilias. I found it very interesting with a guide to explain something of the history of these places.
I cannot understand why anyone would want to say "Why did you do that?"
These places were a highlight for me.

Why? Well, the catacombs are part of our collective history. I found the catacombs fascinating and feel like touring them has added to my collective wisdom about Christianity and Judaism.

Anyway, I have been to San Callisto and San Sebastiano. IMHO San Sebastiano was more interesting for several reasons. The Basilica for one thing is right over the catacombs.

At San Sebastiano on the piers of the portico and rear wall, there is much graffiti invoking the Apostles Pet and Paul repeatedly. Of the over 600 inscriptions, none talk about them being deceased. There are some scholars who believe Paul and Peter actually lived there for some time.

At some point it is felt the remains of St. Peter were kept safely in San Sebastiano and returned to the Vatican when safe.

The story of the martyr St. Sebastian is interesting. He was promoted to tribune and later denounced for ardently preaching the gospel. He was executed by being shot to death by archers. Only, he was left for dead and nursed back to health only to be beaten to death at the Palatine Circus.

Any, you get the picture. Forget the tour from a hotel and take a bus to San Giovanni. Walk across the street to the bus stop and take a bus (ask which one) to San Sebastiano (it is a 1/4 mile walk from where the bus stops. So far you have spent less than 2 euros. The tour takes and hour or so once inside.

Sandi, I figure I've got eternity to spend with other bones and want to make the best of the time I have on the top side. : D )) Seriously, it seems morbid and disrespectful to look at bones as a tourist. I even have a hard time with relics.

It sounds as though the Roman catacombs
are of the less morbid variety ie., crypts below churches etc. which I have explored. I'm always interested in art and to a lesser extent in history so I may consider it.

After a little more research may also make a detour. ; )

Kakalena

I can understand that. If after researching you decide you really don't want to go, then don't. I doubt the absence of your presence (for that tour)would ruin everyone elses vacation. Just tell them that you would prefer not to go out of respect etc..

Dorkforcemom- We went to the San Callisto catacombs. We had heard the San Sebastiano catacombs were better - apparently more of the "graffiti" is visible, but our taxi driver seemed set on taking us to San Callisto. We enjoyed it there very much and were not disappointed, but plan on making it to San Sebastiano on our next trip.

They are catacombs pure and simple and why you or anyone else wants to, or doesn't want to visit is up to the indivdiuals involved. You cannot seem to figure out why they would "want to" and I suspect they'll never be able to explain to their own satisfaction why you "wouldn't want to."

I think Sandi has given you the best advice. If you don;t want to go, say so, and don't go. The alternative: going anyway, against your better judgement, being passive aggressive about it as a result and remaining in a bad mood. It ISN'T WORTH IT! And if "they" don't "understand" well that's unfortunate but their problem, not yours.

Thanks for your response. No more needed. I'm capable of making alternate plans but wanted to know if there was an obvious reason not to go from someone who has visited. It sounds like there isn't.

Now why would anyone want to go to Pisa? Joking! Joking!

Kakalena

Hi Kakalena, I know you said no more responses needed but I just wanted to give a different perspective. I just returned from Italy and while in Rome went to the San Sebastiano catacombs. In my trip notes I wrote interesting tour but I did not feel it was a highlight as others did and would have been just as happy wandering the city streets or hanging out in a cafe somewhere. I think if you are predisposed not to go you should use the time to do something on your own. JenV

saving

I wonder if someone can give me some idea of what a taxi would cost to the San Sebastiano catacombs from central Rome (Pantheon area). Also, what are the opening days/hours.
I have read about getting there by bus but it seems to be a bit complicated and lenghthy. I understand there are tours on site; do these run often, ie, can we just show up and hope to join a tour? (I looked into groups tours offered by outfits including Enjoy rome but at 38 Euro pp this seems way too high.) Many thanks!
Any information re: the Roman catacombs is welcomed in preparation for our visit next week. Thanks again.

I found the site with the information on opening hours and entry fees.

http://www.catacombe.roma.it/en/info.html

Thanks. Still looking for information on the easiest way to get there, including taxi. How easy is it to get a taxi back to central Rome after our visit?

Is my memory starting to fail me? I know that the Paris catacombs which we visited just a couple of years ago are FILLED with bones, thousands and thousands of them, in arrangements and making walls -- skulls everywhere.
But I'm pretty sure it was the San Callisto catacombs we visited in Rome -- more like 10 years ago, and there were NO bones. I found them fascinating, but it was not morbid.

If the bones are the issue (and it sounds like they are), isn't that a NON issue at San Callisto? I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong about this since no one else seems to be pointing out that major difference. Are are there lots of bones at the catacombs in Rome? Have I just forgotten?

I would like to know this as well. Above I asked about San Sebastiano. San Callisto appears to be easier to get to by public tranport. I would like to learn about the differences between the two catacombs and which would be more interesting to the average visitor.

Now about those bones...???

For those who are interested in seeing the catacombs in Rome, one way of getting there is the Archeobus: http://www.romeguide.it/archeobus_ing.htm. Never used this myself, but made a note for our next visit.

The Paris catacombs were memorable for us, and our kids were young boys ages 6 and 8 then. They enjoyed it too--with flashlights in hand! I loved reading the French poetry! (What's up with bones???)

Thanks for the Archeobus info but I have heard pretty bad things about them recently, both here and on the slowtrav site. (people getting stranded, etc)

We have taken a taxi to both the San Callisto catacombs on one trip and the San Domitilla catacombs on another trip.

Our taxi ride from the Pantheon area to San Callisto was 13 euros. I don't have in my notes the cost for the ride to Domitilla, but they are fairly close so I imagine it was about the same.

Getting a taxi back can be a bit trickier. Your options are to call for a taxi (but they usually don't speak much English, so your Italian would have to be pretty good). The drawback is they will charge you to drive from where they are to get there and to drive you back, so potentially double.

At San Callisto we waited for a few minutes hoping a taxi would come dropping other people off. Two men were waiting with us. A taxi came, the two men got in and then out. We asked them why they didn’t want to take it. They didn’t want to take it because there is no meter. The taxi driver spoke very little English. He wants to charge us 20 euros. We say we paid 13 euros to get here, how about 15. In very broken English and lots of hand signals he explains if we call a taxi, they will charge us 15 to come pick us up and 15 to take us to our hotel. We agree on 15 euros to have him take us. Definitely the most lively cab driver we had, and our most enjoyable cab ride. He sang Frank Sinatra and Pavoratti, pointed out sites of interest and even talked politics (“Bush, Blair, Berlusconi my friends!” he said.) He didn’t seem too interested in where our hotel was, just wanted to drop us off at the Pantheon. Oh well, we are very close. Enjoyed it so much we gave him the 20 euros.

From Domtillus, it is not quite as large so less likely that taxis would come by. We just started walking down the street towards the busier part of the neighborhood, and we did eventually find a taxi. Probably took us 5-10 minutes. We did not see a ton of taxis there, but they do come.

I can't tell you the difference between Callisto and San Sebastino since I have not been to San Sebastiano. However, before we went all the recommendations on Fodors suggested San Sebastiano was the best, so that is where we wanted to go, however, our taxi driver seemed to want to take us to San Callisto, so that is where we went. We thoroughly enjoyed it, had a wonderful Irish priest as our guide.

By the way, you can't go down the catacombs without one of their guides, so even with a tour like Eternity Rome you must go down with a catacomb guide. They have tours running continuously in several different languages. So, yes, you just show up and wait for the next English language tour.

On our next trip to Rome we went to San Domitilla Catacombs and really enjoyed them as well. They are a bit smaller, but have some original frescoes that have been untouched - and the guides are excellent, informative and humorous to boot!

We were going to do the Archeobus for San Domitilla but their website had the wrong times that they were at the stop, so we missed them by 15 minutes, so just took a cab.

By the way if you are looking to see bones do not miss Maria Concenzione – the Cappucchin Monk Crypt. It was absolutely incredible. It is an amazing amount of bones. Located at Via Veneto 27 in the Piazza Barberini.

We went to the Priscilla Catacombs a little outside the city of Rome- it can be done cheaply by bus, but we opted for a 10 euro cab ride from the area by the Parthenon. It took about 15 minutes. Then we asked the nun in the front office to call a cab for us for the return trip. I have pasted the address and info below. This was a more "intimate" experience than the huge ones. We were led down by a tiny nun in a black leather jacket over her habit, who carried a flashlight. These are reputed to be some of the earliest Christian images/symbols. No bones, but you can see the carved out spaces of different sizes. For your friends one question would be if they are interested because of religion or history? For me the latter, and I really came away with a better understanding of the early roots of the Church in Rome. Anyway, here is the info and there is more online:
The Catacombs of Saint Priscilla

One of the most interesting of the smaller catacombs and one of the best tours in Rome. You are taken in small groups by one of the English-speaking nuns who are in residence here. And ask to see the vestments they make as they are quite beautiful. These are situated under a villa owned by the ancient Roman family of Arcili of which Saint Priscilla was a member. A number of popes were buried here between 300 and 500 AD because the catacombs of Saint Callistus were full. The Greek Chapel is one of the great sites contained within these catacombs. Located on the Via Salaria, 430.
Admission 4,000 Euro
HOURS: (Winter) 8:30 AM to 12 Noon and 2:30 PM to 5 PM (Summer) 8:30 AM to 12 Noon and 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM
CLOSED MONDAYS AND THE MONTH OF JANUARY

Metro & bus directions; It's a Fodor's post @ http://tinyurl.com/j9w3d
Regards, Walter

Walter, thank you for those very detailed directions. I will print them out. They really are a work of art of a sort!
Jgg, thank you also for taking the time. And SGlass, I did go to the Capuchin crypt and adored it. History would be more my interest than religion. I have been to Rome several times but never been to Catacombs, or to the Appia Antica so am looking forward very much. Thank you again.

Just a word -- I used the Archeobus without problem a few years back, and plan to use them again in a few weeks. I thought it was the most efficient way to get out to the Appia Antica, where you can easily spend a whole day between the catacombs and the various monuments and museums.

I'll check out the negative reports you mentioned. but I always take such stories with a grain of salt. Some people just can't read a schedule.

Pausianas, I tried to find the Slowtrav report again with no luck. Can anyone here offer recent experiences with Archeobus?

I used the Archeobus as recently as October 2006 with my teenage daughter and we went to the San Callisto catacombs on a Sunday. The Archeobus was great - it is a bright green, double decker bus with the top level open to the air - maybe not so good if it is raining. At the time we were staying in an hotel in the Via del Corso, so we walked down to the Piazza Venezia and waited for the bus there. The bus stop was easy to find - there is a green sign with a picture of the bus on on a post and a group of people waiting as well. We were given new, personal airphones to plug in next to our seat, with a commentary in english of the sights along the way. My Archeobus ticket stub shows that I paid 8.OO Euro per ticket, and from memory the catacombs were less than 10,00 per person. You just wait for the next tour in your language when at the catacombs, and taken through by a guide. There were no bones to see, but the history was very interesting, and we are not particularly religious. The brochure that I still have for the Archeobus says the bus goes through every 15 minutes, operating 7 days per week, with a hop-on, hop-off and 9 stops along the way. The list of stops in order (from the brochure) are: Stazione Termini, Piazza Venezia, Colosseo, Circo Massimo, Isola Tiberina, San Pietro, Castel Sant'Angelo, Via Veneto and Piazza Barberini. We went to the catacombs on a sunday by choice, as regular traffic are not allowed to use the Appian Way, so if you choose to walk part of this road you are not having to jump out of the way of lots of cars. Mind the bus took up the complete width of this ancient road, so you do still need to be careful. There are other catacombs to see on the Appian Way, but at the time I did not realsie they were also open, so unfortunately we did not get to get off and see them. We had no trouble in getting back to Rome on the bus and it was great to see the whole of the trip. We also used the hop on and hop off "red" bus 110 during our stay and it was also a good way to see Rome. The routes of the two bus lines are different. One thing that we did see, is that if a bus comes along and you have already purchased a ticket(perhaps you are getting back on), do push to the front of the line, as they gave preference to tickets holders before letting on new passengers - if the bus as getting full. Also have your money in small notes / change as the girls on the bus selling the tickets did not carry much change, and they were "bothered" a bit when people gave in large denomination notes. Hope this helps with some of your queries. In summary, we loved it - the bus and the catacombs - well worth the visit.

Thanks for the information. So I now have several options. The forecast is for rain next week but the bus in the photo on the site above looks like a closed minivan so we should be fine if we decide on this option. I think Pza Venezia is an easy walk from the Pantheon and our hotel.