Rome catacombs
Apr 7th, 2017 | 11:44 PM
#1
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Joined: Mar 2013
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Rome catacombs
Hi lovely Fodor friends.
We have a 72 hour Rome Pass later this month but understand that the catacombs are not covered in the pass.
Have checked out a number of tour options and they vary markedly in cost. We don't necessarily need a guide but if we could find one that doesn't cost the earth that would be great. (A guide always adds that extra dimension, of course even though we're well read on the catacombs.)
Would very much appreciate any feedback please.
We have a 72 hour Rome Pass later this month but understand that the catacombs are not covered in the pass.
Have checked out a number of tour options and they vary markedly in cost. We don't necessarily need a guide but if we could find one that doesn't cost the earth that would be great. (A guide always adds that extra dimension, of course even though we're well read on the catacombs.)
Would very much appreciate any feedback please.
Apr 8th, 2017 | 06:03 AM
#2
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 8,336
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All of the catacombs have their own guided tours, so there's no need to book a tour. I've been to all five of the Christian catacombs that are open for regular visits, and to three of them more than once. My favorites are the Priscilla catacomb and the Saint Agnes (Sant'Agnese) catacomb. Most of the tours go to the Catacomb of San Callisto.
The following is an update of a post about the catacombs I once made to Tripadvisor:
*************
There are five catacombs in Rome that are regularly open to visits. Three are south of the center, while two are north of the center. All of them offer their own tours, and most don't allow outside guides to conduct tours. You just have to get there and back, and you'll be asked what language you prefer and will wait until a group forms for that language. The wait is never long, except sometimes at San Callisto. We've been given semi-private tour at some of the catacombs when no one else showed up who spoke either Italian or English.
The most frequently visited is the Catacomb of San Callisto, south of the city, which has tombs of a number of early popes and also of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. There are often long waits for a tour here, and the groups are sometimes too large to allow you to see and hear the guide, because you're strung out in narrow corridors. I have been there twice, once with an excellent guide and once with a very poor guide.
The Catacomb of San Sebastiano is the smallest of the three south of the city, and is not as well conserved as some of the others, although it has some interesting paintings. The bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul were supposedly kept here for safekeeping during the times of barbarian invasions. Here we took a tour in Spanish, because no Italian or English speakers showed up, and a group of Spanish pilgrims was waiting. I've been there only once.
The Catacomb of Domitilla (not a saint) is the oldest, and may be the largest (I don't remember) of the catacombs. It has some very nice early Christian paintings. Of the three south of the city, this was my favorite. The group was very small; I've been to this catacomb only once.
North of the city, the Catacomb of Priscilla (also not a saint) has perhaps the best early Christian frescoes in the world. There is a very well-preserved little 3rd-century chapel decorated with painted Biblical scenes. The earliest known painting of the Virgin and Child (between 200-250 AD) is also found in this catacomb, although it's a little hard to make it out. I've been there twice, once with a group of four (my husband and I with two Dutch tourists who spoke English.) This was a very large catacomb, where Jews and some pagans were buried, but the only part that's open to visitors has only Christian graves.
The Catacomb of Saint Agnes is interesting more for the whole complex in which it's located than for the catacomb itself. I've visited there twice, both times with excellent small group tours. This catacomb, unlike all the others, grew up around the tomb of a martyr, Saint Agnes. She was murdered in the early 4th century, supposedly because she refused to marry the son of a Roman official. Her foster sister, Saint Emerentiana (the daughter of Saint Agnes' nursemaid), was also murdered, because she refused to stop praying at the tomb of Saint Agnes. Saint Agnes was supposed to have been killed in the Stadium of Domitian, which occupied the spot which is now Piazza Navona. The Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, in the Piazza, commemorates her martyrdom.
The murder of these two young girls (about 12 years old at the time) shocked Romans, even the non-Christians. Pilgrims came to their tombs, and people wanted to be buried near them. The Emperor Constantine built a basilica at the site in the 4th century and his daughter Costanza built a mausoleum near it so she could be buried there. However she died away from Rome, and was buried where she died; the mausoleum was turned into a church, which is one of the most intact ancient buildings in Rome. You can visit this church, which has beautiful 4th century mosaics on the ceiling of the ambulatory, including one that depicts an ancient Roman grape harvest.
The catacomb is entered through a door in the nave of the 7th century basilica, partly underground, that replaced the earlier one. The catacomb itself has little of artistic interest, but there is a very nice golden mosaic in the apse of the basilica. The tour ends in the crypt of the Basilica, where the two young martyrs are buried together. Each year on the Feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs are blessed in the Basilica, and taken away to be raised at a monastery. Their wool, spun and woven by hand at a convent, is used to make the pallia for new archbishops.
The tour of the Saint Agnes catacomb doesn't last long, because the part open to visitors is small, although the catacomb is large. Recently I read that they've discovered a whole new area of the catacomb.
By far the easiest catacomb to reach from central Rome is the catacomb of St. Agnes. You can take the number 90 express bus from in front of Termini station; it stops right at the wall of the convent complex where the catacomb is located. Tell the driver when you board that you want to go to Sant'Agnese (SAHNT ahn-YAY-zay.) You can also take the metro B1 (destination Jonio) to the Sant'Agnese/Annibaliana stop, which is near the catacomb. There's a roundabout when you exit the metro. One of the streets leading from the roundabout is Via di Sant'Agnese, and if you follow that for a short distance, you'll arrive at the catacomb complex. You can also use the same metro stop to get to the catacomb of Priscilla, but it's about a twenty minute walk from there. The number 92 bus, which stops near Termini station, will get you much closer to the Priscilla catacomb.
The catacombs of Domitilla, San Sebastiano, and San Callisto are on or near the Appian Way. You always have about a ten-minute walk to get to the Catacomb of Domitilla. You can get the number 71, which stops near Termini station, to Piazza Navigatori, and then walk along Via delle Sette Chiese to the catacomb.
The 118 bus, which has several stops in central Rome, stops near both the Catacomb of San Sebastiano and that of San Callisto.
There are many other catacombs in Rome, including several Jewish catacombs, but none are open for regular visits. They've been talking for years of opening one of the Jewish catacombs for regular visits, but so far there are none, although some of them can be visited by private tour, and some have special openings from time to time.
All of the catacombs, and all Roman tombs, are outside the center of the city, because Roman law forbid burial, and even tombs containing the ashes of the deceased, inside the city limits.
The Christians and Jews both practiced burial, whereas the Romans traditionally cremated their dead. Burial required lots of land, which was expensive. This is the real reason for the catacombs: by excavating multilevel underground tunnel tombs, a lot more people can be buried in the same amount of space. Towards the end of the Roman empire, many pagan Romans began to practice burial as well, which is why you find some pagan graves in catacombs, usually in a separate section.
The following is an update of a post about the catacombs I once made to Tripadvisor:
*************
There are five catacombs in Rome that are regularly open to visits. Three are south of the center, while two are north of the center. All of them offer their own tours, and most don't allow outside guides to conduct tours. You just have to get there and back, and you'll be asked what language you prefer and will wait until a group forms for that language. The wait is never long, except sometimes at San Callisto. We've been given semi-private tour at some of the catacombs when no one else showed up who spoke either Italian or English.
The most frequently visited is the Catacomb of San Callisto, south of the city, which has tombs of a number of early popes and also of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. There are often long waits for a tour here, and the groups are sometimes too large to allow you to see and hear the guide, because you're strung out in narrow corridors. I have been there twice, once with an excellent guide and once with a very poor guide.
The Catacomb of San Sebastiano is the smallest of the three south of the city, and is not as well conserved as some of the others, although it has some interesting paintings. The bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul were supposedly kept here for safekeeping during the times of barbarian invasions. Here we took a tour in Spanish, because no Italian or English speakers showed up, and a group of Spanish pilgrims was waiting. I've been there only once.
The Catacomb of Domitilla (not a saint) is the oldest, and may be the largest (I don't remember) of the catacombs. It has some very nice early Christian paintings. Of the three south of the city, this was my favorite. The group was very small; I've been to this catacomb only once.
North of the city, the Catacomb of Priscilla (also not a saint) has perhaps the best early Christian frescoes in the world. There is a very well-preserved little 3rd-century chapel decorated with painted Biblical scenes. The earliest known painting of the Virgin and Child (between 200-250 AD) is also found in this catacomb, although it's a little hard to make it out. I've been there twice, once with a group of four (my husband and I with two Dutch tourists who spoke English.) This was a very large catacomb, where Jews and some pagans were buried, but the only part that's open to visitors has only Christian graves.
The Catacomb of Saint Agnes is interesting more for the whole complex in which it's located than for the catacomb itself. I've visited there twice, both times with excellent small group tours. This catacomb, unlike all the others, grew up around the tomb of a martyr, Saint Agnes. She was murdered in the early 4th century, supposedly because she refused to marry the son of a Roman official. Her foster sister, Saint Emerentiana (the daughter of Saint Agnes' nursemaid), was also murdered, because she refused to stop praying at the tomb of Saint Agnes. Saint Agnes was supposed to have been killed in the Stadium of Domitian, which occupied the spot which is now Piazza Navona. The Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, in the Piazza, commemorates her martyrdom.
The murder of these two young girls (about 12 years old at the time) shocked Romans, even the non-Christians. Pilgrims came to their tombs, and people wanted to be buried near them. The Emperor Constantine built a basilica at the site in the 4th century and his daughter Costanza built a mausoleum near it so she could be buried there. However she died away from Rome, and was buried where she died; the mausoleum was turned into a church, which is one of the most intact ancient buildings in Rome. You can visit this church, which has beautiful 4th century mosaics on the ceiling of the ambulatory, including one that depicts an ancient Roman grape harvest.
The catacomb is entered through a door in the nave of the 7th century basilica, partly underground, that replaced the earlier one. The catacomb itself has little of artistic interest, but there is a very nice golden mosaic in the apse of the basilica. The tour ends in the crypt of the Basilica, where the two young martyrs are buried together. Each year on the Feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs are blessed in the Basilica, and taken away to be raised at a monastery. Their wool, spun and woven by hand at a convent, is used to make the pallia for new archbishops.
The tour of the Saint Agnes catacomb doesn't last long, because the part open to visitors is small, although the catacomb is large. Recently I read that they've discovered a whole new area of the catacomb.
By far the easiest catacomb to reach from central Rome is the catacomb of St. Agnes. You can take the number 90 express bus from in front of Termini station; it stops right at the wall of the convent complex where the catacomb is located. Tell the driver when you board that you want to go to Sant'Agnese (SAHNT ahn-YAY-zay.) You can also take the metro B1 (destination Jonio) to the Sant'Agnese/Annibaliana stop, which is near the catacomb. There's a roundabout when you exit the metro. One of the streets leading from the roundabout is Via di Sant'Agnese, and if you follow that for a short distance, you'll arrive at the catacomb complex. You can also use the same metro stop to get to the catacomb of Priscilla, but it's about a twenty minute walk from there. The number 92 bus, which stops near Termini station, will get you much closer to the Priscilla catacomb.
The catacombs of Domitilla, San Sebastiano, and San Callisto are on or near the Appian Way. You always have about a ten-minute walk to get to the Catacomb of Domitilla. You can get the number 71, which stops near Termini station, to Piazza Navigatori, and then walk along Via delle Sette Chiese to the catacomb.
The 118 bus, which has several stops in central Rome, stops near both the Catacomb of San Sebastiano and that of San Callisto.
There are many other catacombs in Rome, including several Jewish catacombs, but none are open for regular visits. They've been talking for years of opening one of the Jewish catacombs for regular visits, but so far there are none, although some of them can be visited by private tour, and some have special openings from time to time.
All of the catacombs, and all Roman tombs, are outside the center of the city, because Roman law forbid burial, and even tombs containing the ashes of the deceased, inside the city limits.
The Christians and Jews both practiced burial, whereas the Romans traditionally cremated their dead. Burial required lots of land, which was expensive. This is the real reason for the catacombs: by excavating multilevel underground tunnel tombs, a lot more people can be buried in the same amount of space. Towards the end of the Roman empire, many pagan Romans began to practice burial as well, which is why you find some pagan graves in catacombs, usually in a separate section.
