Rome Underground Secrets Tour
with Roman Catacombs, Hidden Crypts & Bones
with Roman Catacombs, Hidden Crypts & Bones
From quirky ossuaries to creepy catacombs, this remarkable expedition into the underground uncovers a darker side of the Eternal City. Get the best of every minute as you travel from one peculiar sight to another in the company of a 5-star guide and a small group of 7 guests or fewer.
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| Explore some of the city’s most eerie and captivating sights on our acclaimed Rome catacombs tour. |
| With a private driver to escort you between the curious stopovers, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. |
| Sharing your top-rated guide with only 7 other guests (at the most!), you´ll find it easy to interact and ask questions. |
The Eternal City is more than meets the eye – go beyond (and below!) the main attractions on this thought-provoking journey into the underworld. Deep in the darkness, beneath the buzzing streets of modern-day Rome, your guide will shine a light into the past as you uncover the haunting secrets that most other visitors miss out on. We’ll take care of the tickets and arrange private transportation so that you can enjoy the inaccessible sights without worry – and completely hassle-free!
Rome underground tours offer a stellar option for anyone looking for an unusual experience off the beaten track. Once the Roman Empire fell, many of its great monuments were reduced to rubble, but what remained below ground has been preserved impeccably, almost untouched by time. With countless clues on how Rome became the world’s greatest empire hidden subterraneanly, you’ll gain a unique perspective on history as we descend well below street level and slowly peel back the layers of time.
Our first stop is not for the faint of heart. From the outside, Santa Maria della Concezione may look like any other church in Rome, but its rosy pink façade belies the haunting contents of its underbelly – the Capuchin Monk Bone Crypt. Using the skeletal remains of their deceased brothers (4000 of them to be exact!), friars from the Capuchin order decorated every inch of these otherworldly chambers in the most bizarre patterns and formations – including a vertebrae chandelier and a clock made entirely out of finger and toe bones. Though seemingly macabre at first sight, you may change your perspective from “blasphemous” to “beautiful” when your guide reveals the deeper meaning behind these peculiar displays.
While the Capuchins were allowed to practice their faith in peace, their predecessors weren’t as lucky. For centuries, in fact, Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire, and believers were forced to bury their dead outside the city walls. We’ll follow in their footsteps and delve into the chilling Catacombs of St. Callixtus – the final resting place of over 500,000 souls. Explore the twisting maze of underground tunnels, learn to decipher the ancient symbols depicted on the walls, and hear the compelling stories of how the early Christians performed their religious rituals in secrecy (and the horrific punishments that awaited them if exposed). Equal parts creepy and mesmerizing; this is one of those sights you have to see to believe!
We’ll end the tour with some good old-fashioned time-traveling at the Basilica of San Clemente. Thanks to one insomniac Irish priest, who insisted he could hear water running and decided to start digging, we can today explore all layers of this remarkable three-tiered “lasagna” church. We’ll take a few moments to admire the mosaics in the above-ground 12th-century Basilica before plunging into its subterranean levels – first the 4th-century church and then the second underground level, containing a 1st-century apartment complex (complete with a cave-like temple, used for the enigmatic rites of the Mithraic mystery cult!).
Out of respect for the holy places visited, and due to the touching nature of the tour, we always limit our group size to 8 people or fewer. The small group size ensures an intimate and private setting, where you can feel free to openly discuss thoughts and questions that come up along the way (trust us, there will be many!). With one of our experts leading the way, you will gain a tantalizing glimpse into a long-lost world and a heightened appreciation for all that Rome has to offer!
Tour Highlights
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Inclusions
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