Basilica of San Clemente

Discover the underground world of ancient Rome on this exciting, fascinating, and adventurous tour of the Catacombs and the excavated site of Basilica San Clemente.

On your private half-day tour you will:

• Travel between sites in the comfort of an air-conditioned private vehicle;
• Explore the hidden underground of ancient Roman burial sites, streets, houses, and temples with an expert private guide;
• Feel like Indiana Jones or Lara croft as you explore the awe-inspiring subterranean burial chambers and miles of labyrinthine galleries at the Rome Catacombs;
• Descend below the unique 12th-century basilica of San Clemente and see the archaeological lasagna that is Rome;
• Walk around a 4th-century church with original 9th-century frescos offering us a glimpse into a long-lost world; 
• Step down into a mysterious 2nd-century pagan temple to Mithras, and learn about this secretive warrior cult;
• Walk in the footsteps of the ancient Romans in a 1st-century subterranean Roman house... where one more surprise awaits!

Drive just beyond the ancient city walls to visit the labyrinth of underground ancient Christian burial chambers called the Catacombs, then discover the layers and layers of Rome, excavated below the Basilica San Clemente (near the Colosseum): walk through a pagan temple, an ancient roman house, and an early Christian church - all underground!

You will often hear historians and locals alike refer to Rome as a lasagna! On this tour, you will literally walk your way through these layers of history, as you discover the different excavated street levels of Rome and the miles and miles of underground graves, dug for and by the ancient Christians two thousand years ago known as the Catacombs.

Driving just beyond the Aurelian Wall, you’ll descend into an extensive and complex web of graves; the Christian catacombs. You’ll walk down galleries lined with rectangular empty niches – each one contained a body once.

Your guide will explain the different styles of graves, the burial rituals, and funeral rites, decode the extraordinarily well-preserved frescos and symbolic carvings and talk you through the dramatic sacking of the tombs by Barbarians after the fall of Rome.

One of the most evocative things about the catacombs is seeing the pick axe marks and scrapes of the fossari (the gravediggers) in the soft tufa rock and the tiny terracotta oil lamps that lit their way as they dug these dark tunnels. It is a truly fascinating, exciting, and humbling experience entering these unique places with your private guide.

In the Basilica San Clemente, you’ll learn why Rome was built layer on layer, not in a day but over several hundred years. You’ll learn why so many Christian churches were built on top of pagan temples and hear the stories of the martyrs depicted in frescos in the Middle Ages.

Your guide will talk you through a day in the life of an ancient Roman as you walk through a first-century apartment, and explain the initiation rites of the warrior-like cult of Mithras as you gaze into the inner sanctum and see the original altar of Mithras and the bull.

This tour ends at the Basilica of San Clemente, located right next to the Roman Colosseum.


Please note: the dress code for this tour must be observed (covered knees and shoulders). The catacombs and excavations are chilly and humid at 13 celsius, so please bring something warm to wear!
Also, due to local regulations, during the visit to the Catacombs you will be part of a larger group. For the rest of the tour, you will be alone with your dedicated private guide.