Discover Roman Catacombs

The catacombs are what Rome's Christians did about a problem of land. They began digging their own community cemeteries — the places now called catacombs — from the second half of the 2nd century, outside the city, because burial inside it was not available to them.

The largest of them was an institution. The Catacombs of San Callisto were the official cemetery of the Church of Rome in the 3rd century. About half a million Christians were buried there, including dozens of martyrs and sixteen pontiffs. They take their name from the deacon Saint Callixtus, whom Pope Zephyrinus put in charge of the cemetery's administration at the beginning of the 3rd century — the Crypt of the Popes is described by its custodians as the heart of the complex.

They are still run by the Church, and the chain is specific. The Callistian complex belongs to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See; its government, custody and conservation are entrusted to the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology; and since 1930 the reception of pilgrims and the guided visits have been entrusted to the Salesians of Don Bosco. They remain the destination of continual pilgrimages on account of the many martyrs buried there.

Three things decide whether you get in. San Callisto is closed every Wednesday. Online booking is required. And the catacombs can only be visited in groups of at least two people, accompanied — guided visits start every 30 minutes and last about 40, with the last at 17.00 and the ticket office shutting at 16.50.

Admission is EUR 10 full, EUR 7 reduced, and free for several categories including children up to six and visitors with a disability above 74 per cent with a companion where prescribed. Hours are 09.00–12.00 and 14.00–17.00 on the six days it opens, and there is a long winter closure from 13 January to 10 February.

There is no architecture here in the ordinary sense — the building is the absence. The catacombs were dug, not built: corridors cut down through soft rock, with burial slots opened in their walls, and chambers opened off them where more space was wanted.

The plan grows by extension rather than by design. Rome's Christians began these community cemeteries from the second half of the 2nd century, and the complex expanded until San Callisto could hold about half a million burials. Growth of that kind produces a network, not a composition.

The named spaces are the exceptions. The custodians list the Crypt of the Popes — the heart of these catacombs — the Crypt of Saint Cecilia, the cubicles of the sacraments, the region known as that of Pope Miltiades and the region of Saint Caius and Saint Eusebius. These are rooms rather than corridors, and they are where the decoration is.

The corridor dimensions are a design constraint you feel. They are narrow enough that the custodians require visitors to move in accompanied groups, which is as much about the width of the passages as about supervision.

They were cut, by hand, outward from the point where the digging started. The custodians date the beginning precisely enough: the Christians of Rome began to dig their own community cemeteries from the second half of the 2nd century.

The method is subtraction, and the material permitted it. The rock around Rome is soft enough to cut with hand tools and firm enough to stand unsupported, which is why the corridors have no lining, no vaulting and no props — the walls are simply the rock that was left.

Scale came from repetition, not engineering. Slots cut one above another along both walls, corridor after corridor, until about half a million people were accommodated — including dozens of martyrs and sixteen pontiffs.

Administration arrived early and is the reason the site is coherent. At the beginning of the 3rd century Pope Zephyrinus put the deacon Callixtus in charge of the cemetery's administration, and it became the official cemetery of the Church of Rome. A managed cemetery grows differently from a collection of family tombs.

And it has never been abandoned. The catacombs remained the destination of continual pilgrimages, which is the ordinary reason an underground site survives: someone kept going down into it.

Can I visit on my own? No. The catacombs are visited only in groups of at least two people, accompanied by one of the custodians' collaborators.

Do I need to book? Yes — online booking is required.

What are the hours? 09.00–12.00 and 14.00–17.00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Closed every Wednesday.

When is the last visit? The last afternoon visit starts at 17.00 and the ticket office closes at 16.50. The last morning visit starts at 12.00.

How long does it take? Guided visits last about 40 minutes and start every 30 minutes.

How much is it? EUR 10.00 full, EUR 7.00 reduced. Free for several categories including children up to 6 and people with a disability above 74 per cent plus a companion where prescribed.

When else is it closed? 1 January, 25 December, Easter, and 13 January to 10 February.

How many people are buried there? About half a million at San Callisto, including dozens of martyrs and sixteen pontiffs.

When were the catacombs dug? Rome's Christians began digging community cemeteries from the second half of the 2nd century.

Who runs them? Owned by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, governed by the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, with visits run by the Salesians of Don Bosco since 1930.