In a city where the street level has risen about 30 feet (due to flooding of the Tiber) since the days of the Caesars, it’s only natural that a whole other Rome should exist hidden away beneath the modern buildings.
The catacombs have been drawing visitors underground for centuries, but there are also plenty of places within the city center that permit visitors a fascinating descent into the bowels of history.
Here are eight of Rome’s most intriguing subterranean sights.
(Virgin Mary statue at the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome | Credit: Bojan Pavlukovic / Shutterstock)
Rome’s Best Underground Attractions
Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini: At one of Rome’s most well-presented archaeological sites, visitors descend underneath a Renaissance palazzo and, from a glass floor, peer down into the remains of several upscale Roman homes. With the use of 3D projections, the walls, floors, and ceilings of the once grand houses spring back to colorful life, offering a captivating look at lifestyles of the ancient rich and famous. Via Foro Traiano 85 (near Trajan’s Column), palazzovalentini.it.
San Clemente: This fascinating church is the best place in Rome to understand the city’s complex evolution. Descend 60 feet through medieval and paleo-Christian layers to the dark, atmospheric lowest level, where you’ll hear water still gushing from an ancient spring. Here you can visit the rooms of a 1st-century A.D. palace and the ritual room of the ancient cult of Mithras. Via Labicana 95, basilicasanclemente.com.
Case Romane del Celio: Extensive excavations beneath this Romanesque church on Celio Hill revealed 1st-century-A.D. Roman houses with splendid wall frescoes. Piazza Santi Giovanni e Paolo 13, caseromanedelcelio.it.
Mamertine Prison: Dank and oppressive, these black-rock chambers adjacent to the Roman Forum are said to be where saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned before their martyrdoms. Regardless of your faith, when you’re standing at the bottom of the windowless dungeon the history is palpable. A small museum covers the story of the prison and its better-known “guests.” Clivo Argentario 1.
(Mamertine Prison entrance in Rome | Credit: Vladimir Mucibabic / Shutterstock)
Museum & Crypt of the Capuchin Friars: A museum with more info than you might ever need to know about the Capuchin Friary precedes the macabre pièce de résistance, a church crypt (pictured at the top of this page) decorated with thousands of artfully arranged monks’ bones and skulls. Each chapel is a bizarre diorama where propped-up monks, still in their desiccated cassocks, strike cautionary poses. Though potentially scary for younger visitors, the overall effect is oddly peaceful. Via Veneto 27, museoecriptacappuccini.it.
(Stadium of Domitian in Rome | Credit: Kirk Fisher / Shutterstock)
Stadium of Domitian: At the northern end of Piazza Navona, explore the fascinating remains of the 1st-century-A.D. athletic venue that gave the square its oblong shape. Piazza di Tor Sanguigna 13, stadiodomiziano.com.
Necropolis of St. Peter’s: A haunting, though presumably not haunted, space, these humble, narrow tunnels beneath the immense Vatican basilica make for an unforgettable dip into the origins of early Christian history. Piazza San Pietro, vatican.va.
(Entrance to the Catacombs of San Callisto in Rome | Credit: Sun_Shine / Shutterstock)
Catacombs of San Callisto and San Sebastiano. Of Rome’s 65 known catacombs—networks of hand-dug tunnels that became massive dormitories for the dead—only a handful are open to the public. The catacombs of San Callisto are the largest, with 500,000 burial niches (loculi). Nearby, the catacombs of San Sebastiano are more intimate. Via Appia Antica, catacombesancallisto.it, catacombe.org.
To uncover more things to see and do in Italy’s ever-fascinating capital, pick up a copy of Frommer’s Rome Day by Day.