Catacombs, Rome

The catacombs were the burial places of the Christians. All catacombs were outside the walls of the city as there was a law forbidding the burial of bodies within the precincts of the town. Of the over sixty catacombs around Rome, a very few. five, are open to the public.

Excavated over a stretch of three centuries, from about.150 to 450 A.D., these underground cemeteries are similar in shape and structure and made up of long galleries, cubicles and crypts. They contain countless tombs adorned with monuments, sculptures, inscriptions and paintings, all expressing the same Christian faith of the early Church of Rome.

Closed on Wednesdays.
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The Catacombs or necropoli, consist of kilometers of passageways and crypts of Christians, popes, and saints. Excavated over a stretch of three centuries, from about 150 to 450 AD, these underground cemeteries are similar in shape and structure and made up of long galleries, cubicles and crypts. They contain countless tombs adorned with monuments, sculptures, inscriptions and paintings, all expressing the same Christian faith of the early Church of Rome.

These are underground burial sites.In the beginning they were only burial places. Here the Christians gathered to celebrate their funeral rites, the anniversaries of the martyrs and of the dead. Later they became real shrines of the martyrs, centres of devotion and of pilgrimage for Christians from every part of the empire.
In compliance with the Roman law, which forbade the burial of the dead within the city walls, all catacombs are located outside the city, along the great consular roads, generally in the immediate suburban area of that age.

The Catacombs which line the Appian Way .
There are 3 complexes of catacombs of San Callisto , San Sebastiano and Domitilla . The name catacomb originally referred only to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano , a burial place set into the subterranean galleries of a pozzolana mine . The one I was told on the tour that was the oldest of the Catacombs was that of San Callisto , thought to have held the tombs of almost all the popes of the 3rd century , WOW .

Visit the CONVENTO DEI CAPPUCCINI to see this chilling tribute to Death -- the skeletons of 4,000 monks (some whole, most dismantled into pieces!) have been used to decorate the interior of the convent's crypt. A plaque in the last room of the crypt reads: 'That which you are, we used to be. That which we are, you shall become.'

I don't have that much information but I will find out. I remember being there 5 years ago and I thought it was a great experience to see the place. It was cold, creepy, dark, and when you get lost, you are dead :-))) Just kidding! It's a maze there except you have dead people :-) Oh and nobody is allowed to take photographs :-( We need to respect the dead. But it's worth seeing. It is not too far from Rome either.

Interesting to visit how and where they buried their families.
It's not allowed to take pics; this one shows the main entrance.

Bus: 714 (from Termini station).