WHAT IS THERE
TO SEE?

Sure, the Catacombs of San Sebastiano and Domitilla may be easier to get to on the Via Appia Antica, but the journey to the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter will certainly not be wasted. Passageways spanning 17 kilometres, spectacular frescos and impressively preserved graves await. A visit to these catacombs will help you understand the basic beliefs, desires and traditions that defined the early days of Christianity.

Without a doubt, the countless frescos are the highlight of any trip to these catacombs. There’s one fresco dating back to the 4th century, for example, which depicts Marcellinus and Peter with Jesus Christ and his apostles Peter and Paul. Another one stars Adam and Eve. One grave provides the canvas for a baptism scene, and there’s an agape feast painted on the wall of one burial chamber. The arcosolium graves are beautifully decorated with floral patterns. If you look closely, you can sometimes also spot depictions of the four seasons or classic Christian symbols and myths.

The catacomb guided tour starts and ends at the exhibition in the Mausoleum of Helena (the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine I), which is located in the same complex. After a short introduction to the history of the catacombs, you leave the mausoleum and climb down into the catacombs. The temperature down there is much warmer than we expected – it’s not cold at all. (You do have the option of taking your coat off beforehand and leaving it at the entrance.)

Now, this is a catacomb, so the passageways are narrow and dark and the walls of the graves are high. The graves are stacked tightly on top of one another in rows. Some of them are sealed and some of them are open. You can also see walls that have had graves marked up on them but have never been hollowed out and actually turned into graves.

They would have needed some light by the graves back then – just as we do now. Their source of light would have been small oil lamps, which would have been positioned in the wall close to the graves. Most of the oil lamps have either gone or been placed in glass display cases by now. There is just one remaining in its original position in the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter.

The remains of Marcellinus and Peter, who the catacombs are named after, are no longer here since they were moved to Germany in 827. This is unusual compared to most of the other catacombs. Although both graves are empty, you can still take a look at them during the guided tour of the catacombs. Marcellinus and Peter were martyrs who were imprisoned, tortured and beheaded in around 300 A.D. during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.

WHAT IS THERE
TO SEE?

The Catacombs of Domitilla cover also a length of 17 kilometres, making them among the largest in Rome. There are around 150,000 tombs in the walls that were built over a period of 500 years on different levels, each with a height of four or five metres. They are not all open to the public, though.

Compared to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, you get a much clearer sense that the Catacombs of Domitilla were a holy place where faith in God and the resurrection prevailed over everything else. This means that you learn a lot about the beliefs and history of Christianity, as well as the catacombs when you’re looking around. There are so many inscriptions, Christian symbols and early Christian wall frescos that religion is at the forefront of your mind for much of the time you’re in the catacombs. These frescos and inscriptions are unbelievably well-preserved, the stories told about some of the graves are fascinating and the guided tour flows nicely. All of that put together makes the Catacombs of Domitilla a really interesting place to visit!

The guided tour of the catacombs starts and ends in a unique underground basilica. In fact, it’s so unique that it’s the only one of its kind in the whole of Rome. What a peaceful place. There’s no noise to distract you, but there’s also a lack of visual stimulation. No gold, no pomp, no splendour. It doesn’t need any of that to be spectacular. That could be something to do with how surprisingly light it is in this basilica. Originally built during the 5th century on an existing sacred site, it wasn’t underground at the time.

The name Domitilla has its origins in the ancient plot belonging to Flavia Domitilla, the granddaughter of the Roman Emperor Vespasian. She made her land – well, the area under the land – available for non-Christian use during the 1st century. At the start of the 2nd century, this land started to be used as a hypogeum. The word ‘hypogeum’ means ‘underground’ in Greek. So a hypogeum is an underground burial place that is pagan, while catacombs are Christian. After these burial places became Christian towards the end of the 2nd century, they were steadily extended. During the 4th century, the Catacombs of Domitilla became the burial place of the martyrs Nereo and Achilleo, two soldiers who were victims of the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. The underground basilica is dedicated to the two of them. It is believed that the remains of Saint Flavia Domitilla lie beside those of Nereo and Achilleo.

WHAT IS THERE
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When you arrive at the Catacombs of San Sebastiano on the Via Appia Antica, you can’t help but admire the Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls. One of the seven pilgrim churches of Rome, it has stood here since 317. It was commissioned by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century and stands above the catacombs, which are connected to it via an entrance. One mini highlight here is a sculpture by Gian Lorenze Bernini called ‘Bust of the Saviour’ (the saviour here is Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who commissioned the restoration of the church). This work of art was actually believed to be lost for many years.

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the underground attractions! The temperature turns a little cooler as you head down the steps to the graves, so make sure you take a coat or a scarf with you. Even though it also gets darker, you can clearly see that this is a holy place. You don’t have to be an archaeologist to work out that the inscriptions (around 600 in total) and the symbols are old (well, very old) and hugely significant.

Narrow passageways take you through the burial site. There are stone walls filled with niche graves on either side. You come across larger graves every so often and can’t help but stop to admire the beautiful paintings on the walls of the cubiculum graves. Luckily, the catacomb tour guide is on hand to point out lots of little details. And remind you to turn on the torch on your phone if you want to take a closer look at something.

A visit to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano leaves you in no doubt that Christians shared their graves with pagans until the 2nd century. You see, the first graves in the tuff walls here were used in the 1st century. There was a definite shift towards Christianity from the 2nd century, when the passageways were extended and more graves were added.

Lots of visitors will be excited to realise that the remains of the apostles Peter and Paul were buried here during the 3rd century. That’s the main reason these catacombs have always been a popular destination for many pilgrims. Even the least devout Christians are sure to have a special moment when they see all the Peter and Paul inscriptions. You have to pass three massive burial chambers on the way. They look a bit like little temples from the outside. Even though they’re already quite far underground, you would be able to go much deeper inside these burial chambers. Unfortunately, though, they’re all blocked off and you can’t get through at all.

These catacombs are named after the martyr Saint Sebastian, who was buried here in the 3rd century. He was bound to a stake and shot at with arrows until he died. He is honoured in a great number of artistic depictions here too.

WHAT IS THERE
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The Catacombs of Priscilla are among the oldest and largest catacombs in Rome. The Catacombs of Priscilla are on the Via Salaria – not the Via Appia Antica with the Catacombs of San Sebastiano and the Catacombs of Domitilla. Both are ancient trade roads outside of the city centre.

These catacombs are named after Priscilla, a noble woman (not a saint) whose son Saint Pudens protected Saint Peter. The passageways made of tuff, limestone and brick span around 13 kilometres in total. And they’re so tall that there’s space for five rows of niche graves in the walls.

The burial chambers date back to between the 2nd and 5th centuries. During the 3rd century, more space was created for burial chambers by digging one level deeper along a long passage. A basilica was built on top of the catacombs in the 4th century. From the 5th century onwards, the entrances were hidden to stop the graves from being plundered. Earthquakes and other environmental influences meant the catacombs were more or less forgotten before they were rediscovered in the 16th century.

Besides the niche, arcosolium and cubiculum graves, there are two other main attractions that are not to be missed in the Catacombs of Priscilla. Those are the Greek chapel and the oldest fresco of Mary. Make sure you look out for the tiny fresco on the ceiling in one of the grave niches. You can clearly make out the image of the Virgin Mary with Jesus on her lap. Another clue is the prophet standing beside her with a scroll in one hand and the other hand pointing at a star, which is clearly recognisable too.

The underground Greek chapel (or crypt) is named after the Greek inscriptions (epitaphs) that were spotted first before the rest of the chapel was accessible or visible. There are lots of colourful frescos on the walls inside the chapel. One of them depicts a meal eaten near the graves in honour of the dead – a type of funeral banquet known as ‘refrigeri’ or ‘agapi’. What makes this painting so interesting is that the actions of the people, who are breaking and sharing bread, and the baskets reflect the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

There are marble tiles with early Christian symbols on them all over the place. You can spot the Jesus fish symbol no end of times, for example. And the Christogram that is often wrongly understood to mean ‘PAX’ (peace). It consists of two Greek letters that look like X and P in the Latin alphabet. But it actually has nothing to do with those two letters. The symbols represent the first two letters in the Greek word Χριστός (Christós), which means Christ.

Just make sure you keep your eyes peeled so you don’t miss any of these important little details when you’re exploring the catacombs!