Rome Catacombs Tour: Explore Hidden Underground History

Uncover the hidden world beneath the churches of Rome on this underground walking tour. Explore ancient catacombs and the historic San Clemente Basilica, revealing layers of history and hidden treasures.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Catacombe di Santa Domitilla - -
  • Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo - -
  • Basilica of San Clemente - -
What's Included
  • Headsets provided for larger groups
  • Tour of Rome’s largest, best-preserved Catacombs
  • Includes all fees and taxes
  • Guidance from an expert, English-speaking guide
  • Comfortable minivan transportation between sites
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to and from the meeting and end point
  • Food and beverages
  • Gratuities (optional)
Additional Information

Embark on this unique walking excursion, which leads you beneath the surface, into the concealed realm under Rome’s churches, and into the catacombs, the ancient graveyard for early Christians. Uncover the historical strata beneath San Clemente, covering historic places of worship, heathen temples, and a subterranean river. Delve into the Roman…

Location
Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 106
Via di San Giovanni in Laterano
Your guide will meet you at the Basilica of St Clemente, at the entrance door. Across the street is a restaurant called Hostaria I Clementini, the address Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 106. They will have a Through Eternity sign or flag.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(21 Ratings)
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459louises
Aug 20, 2023
Great tour - We had an excellent tour of the 3 sites with only 2 other people. Our guide did a wonderful job of leading us through the catacombs and the Case Romane. Our driver was also excellent, dropping us off and picking us up at each site. I highly recommend the tour, it is unique.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scenic65843345555
Jul 8, 2023
Catacombs Tour with Ricardo! - Our family took the Underground Rome and Catacombs Tour by Minivan with Ricardo. It was supposed to be semi-private with up to 15 people, but we had it all to ourselves. The catacombs were absolutely amazing and Ricardo knew so much about them. We got to see some phenomenal early Christian art work and even some remaining bones from before the catacombs were raided. Afterwards we took the van to the Roman House's. It was so interesting to see how the farther in you got, the more apparent the Christian art became. Yet again, Ricardo was so knowledgeable about them. Any question we had he answered right away. Not only that, but he was incredibly enthusiastic and seemed just as interested as us even though he said he'd done this tour tons of times. He then took us to the Basilica of San Clementi. It was absolutely breathtaking, and had such an interesting history that I won't spoil in this review. The architecture and art were incredible to see, especially for someone interested in art history. We went downstairs of the church and headed to the archeological sites, including a Mithraic temple. Just like usual, Ricardo was incredibly well versed on this and the whole archeological site. He presented us with proven facts, and with hypothesis' on what things may be. I can't even begin to describe how amazing he was. I was entertained the entire 3 hours, and could have stayed for many more just chatting with him about history. He really made our tour and our Rome trip in general. This tour was easily the best thing we did in Rome, and I would highly recommend it. We've taken two other tours with Through Eternity: The Colosseum Tour with Palatine Hill and the Roman forum, and Essential Sistine Chapel Tour, Vatican Museums & St. Peter's Basilica. Both of these tours were amazing, and I highly recommend them as well. Our guides were great, and were even able to make the blistering Italian sun an afterthought with all the amazing information they were feeding us. If you only have a day in Rome though, the catacombs tour is by far my favorite and made our entire trip for us. Through Eternity is a wonderful company, and every tour we've taken has been fantastic. They are communicative and straight forward with directions. Taking a tour with this company 100% helps to tone down the fear of "Oh no, am I in the wrong place? What if I miss my tour?". Thank you so much for the amazing experience, I am already dreaming of coming back! Yet again, a huge thank you to Ricardo; he was the best guide I've ever had and so sweet! If there is anyway to request a guide, request him! He was easily the highlight of our trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jasbrumed
May 15, 2023
Highly recommended to see Underground Rome and appreciate what lies beneath your feet in Rome - We were so fortunate to have a guide of the quality of Thomas Robinson for this tour. Thomas was incredibly knowledgable, passionate, and brilliant at bringing history to life. He was excellent at telling the stories behind the facts, and expertly connected the locations with one another. The tour is a combination of archaeology, architecture, religion, and the people of Rome through various ages. Thomas was engaging, insightful and funny throughout the tour, and volunteered to stay on once the tour had finished to answer any final questions. Afterwards we felt like we had a much better understanding not only of the locations we visited but Rome in general.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rick_ba7
May 3, 2023
Step Back in Time and Blow Your Mind - Our guide Eugenia was incredibly knowledgeable and very friendly. One couple was late in arriving and she tried her best to get in touch with them before finding them at a nearby café. We took the shuttle through the morning traffic to the catacombs while she explained some of the history of Rome and the reasons why the burial sites were out of the city. The catacombs were eerie but exciting, as were all the historical places we visited. Awe inspiring! We all enjoyed ourselves and would highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Floppypoppy26
Nov 14, 2019
Excellent Experience - Luca was an engaging, thoughtful and very informative guide. The sites (and sights) were captivating and the unfolding of architectural and religious history fascinated me. What a privilege to see these wonders.
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Ceramicist_13
Oct 8, 2019
Mithras temple underneath - Magnificent basilica. Run by Irish priests. Beautiful interior covered in mosaics from colloseum to san Clemente. Then to san Giovanni Laterano. Mosaics lighting and altar are fantastic. Buy a ticket for Mithras underground temple. Pre Christian. Well worth a visit. Go up the same street for san Giovanni church. Entrance is round the side sometimes. Enjoy
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Northpacificgirl
Oct 4, 2019
Outstanding tour! - This was an excellent and thought provoking tour! Our guide Luca deftly wove together the histories and iconographies of Rome’s pagan and Early Christian peoples. We were impressed by the content and professionalism of the tour - highlights for us were the catacombs and the meeting room for Mithras initiates. Recommended!
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Doo45gkeller
Aug 1, 2019
Thomas is the best. - Thoroughly enjoyed our guide, Thomas, his wealth of knowledge and his humor. He walked us through archaeology and history with a fast pace and a wry sense of humor in linking 2000 years of history. Heard he also gives a great tour of the Forum and the Colosseum.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nancy
Sep 23, 2019
Catacombs - We had a very good experience visiting the Catacombs and Basilica of San Clemente with Erica as our guide. Erica’s knowledge of the history of Rome’s Catacombs made the tour much more enjoyable. She spoke very good English. This made it easy to understand all the information she shared with us. She also gave us the name of a fantastic restaurant. It was fantastic!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ron_c
Oct 8, 2019
Misleading advertisement and painfully boring guide - The advertisement included pictures of and listed the Capuchins Crypt as one of the visited sites but then changed the itinerary. That was the reason we booked the tour. In addition, the tour guide was SO boring - you could tell he'd done it a thousand times. He was also condescending and offensive toward the Christian history he was teaching about.
Review provided by Viator