Catacombe di San Callisto: Tickets & Guided Tours

What makes San Callisto worth your underground hour

Rome has more than sixty catacombs, five open to visitors — and San Callisto is the one archaeologists call the official cemetery of the early Church. Established in the 2nd century along the Appian Way, it grew into the largest Christian burial complex in the city: around half a million tombs cut into soft volcanic tufa.

Two stops on the tour justify the trip alone. The Crypt of the Popes, nicknamed “the little Vatican”, held nine 3rd-century popes; their Greek epitaphs are still set in the walls. Next door lies the crypt of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music, marked by a copy of Stefano Maderno's famous sculpture of the martyred saint.

Between the crypts, your guide walks you past the Cubicles of the Sacraments, whose 3rd-century frescoes are a visual dictionary of early Christian symbols — the fish, the anchor, the Good Shepherd, the dove. You will see the originals; photography is not permitted, so our gallery of archival images is the way to preview them.