Hi,

Of the different roman catacombs (St- Callistus, St-Agnes, St-Priscilla, etc) is there one (or more than one) that is a must see?

Please take into account that we are not believers and, as such, the visit would not represent a pilgrimage.

Is it worthwhile from a cultural perspective?

Thank you

I believe St Sebastion is the most popular. The walk there ends at some elaborate Roman tombs if I remember correctly. I've found Callistus the most interesting, primarily because the guides take the time to explain what you will see on the tour before you actually descend. I visited those of Priscilla long ago -- as I recall they are out of the way, but feature the earliest known depiction of the Madonna and child. Domatilla offers a subterranean basilica and curious carved Christian symbols.

Combining Sebastion or Callistus with visiting other sites along the Appia Antica and perhaps lunch at one of the restaurants would make an evocative excursion. This is where you can experience that attractive eighteenth century melancholy over the decline and fall.

We took our kids to the Catacombs de St Callisto, and we enjoyed it. It was interesting and very informative about the history of the catacombs. (read that in my trip report just now-need to go back to my journal for specifics as it's been a while!). Plus, we enjoyed walking along the Appia Antica as well.

We also went to san Callisto only so can't compare to the others. We thought the tour was quite well done. It was also interesting (culturally) to go to the church of Santa Cecelia in Trastever after sseing the crypt at the catacombs where Cecelia was originally buried.

about the Appian way... the upper part from Porta San Sebastiano to the catacombs is very narrow and has lots of traffic so is not a good place to walk. This section is closed to traffic on Sundays so would be much more pleasant then. The more impressive sections of the Via Appia are farther out from the city. The archeobus is a good way to see long stretches of the Appian way and some major aqueducts and allows you to get off and on along the route.

We thought that it was not worthwhile at all. There are so many other things to see. They ask that all the English speaking people group together so our group was very large and we could hardly hear anything that the guide said. I say bag it.

I think it's very worthwhile, but that "depends".
If you are spending 3 weeks there, this is your 3rd+ trip,etc. then it's a nice Sunday visit.
I actually didn't visit them until my 4th. trip. And I love visiting early Christian sites.

We went to Callisto, and I thought it was incredibly short, about 20 minutes at best. As already mentioned, the English-speaking group was huge. We got pushed to the back of it and missed most of what was said. The walk around the Appian Way was better than the actual tour. It was a beautiful walk on a sunny Sunday. But since it was probably the only time I'll get to go to Rome, I was glad we did it.

revisit http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34690621

I really appreciated reading the contradictory comments. I think we will keep the visit in the back pocket.

And thanks for the link schuba, much appreciated.

If you do decide and want directions http://tinyurl.com/j9w3d (it's a Fodors post).
Regards, Walter