Meet your guide at the meeting point and then venture deep underground the Basilica of San Clemente, below its foundations into a mystical world of ancient cults and legends. Journey through several layers of history and earth, down to 14 meters below ground. Live the excitement of gradually exploring the later structures built on top of it on your way up to the surface. Go back in time down to the deepest point and discover the best-preserved Mithraic temple of the city. Find out about the pagan faith of Ancient Romans before Christianity and be intrigued by its sectarian and esoteric flavour. Touch the waters of an underground river before going higher into the remains of the 4th Century Basilica, built on top of the martyr’s house and below the actual one. Walk along its imposing walls and be fascinated by the ancient frescoes while learning about the scenes and the lives of the martyrs they portray.
Get onboard a comfortable air-conditioned minivan and travel along the Ancient Appian Way to the largest Catacombs in Rome. The round trip takes approx. 30 minutes.
Visit the otherworldly crypts of Domitilla. Descend 16 meters below the surface and explore the accessible part of its vast labyrinth of underground burial chambers and galleries. Be captivated by the ancient wall-paintings of mythological and biblical figures and revive the shift of faith from paganism to Christianity. Feel the power of prohibited belief and learn about early martyrs and persecutions. Complete your underworld experience in the 4th-century subterranean basilica.
As interesting as the catacombs were, we particularly enjoyed the tour under St Clement’s Basilica. We were only 2 in our group that chose this option and thoroughly enjoyed a private, incredibly informative tour with our guide!
This is a very neat tour but you are not allowed to take photos or videos. This is not the excursion to see skulls or bones.
The storytelling style of this tour is perfect for the sites. We learned a lot and were amazed by the discoveries.
Our guide was excellent made the tour so interesting. The catacombs were fascinating and st Clements was so beautiful.
While the catacombs were cool, the best part is the undergrounds. It's amazing to be standing in/on a building so old and in such good condition. Worth your hard earned money.
This is a fantastic tour of a true catacomb and detailed tour of San Clemente. The guide, Daniel, was probably the best tour guide I have experienced over the years of using Viator
We enjoyed the tour. The church was our favorite spot. We saw up close the different layers of time under the church and how they built one on top of the other on top of the other. Plus the temperature was very cool on a hot day.
Good experience and Interesting information. Small group experience was appreciated. Ample time at locations and reliable start and end times.
Our guide was outstanding. Knowledgeable and friendly. Layers and layers of history to explore. We would highly recommend this tour.
Erneste, the tour guide, was excellent, and guided us around the two sites expertly. He knew his subject inside and out, and was able to communicate clearly and engagingly and answer the questions that everyone in the group asked. Both sites were fascinating, and gave a real insight into the way that people lived, worshipped and honoured their dead, and the way that each site had developed over time. The minibus transfer between the sites was smooth, and the vehicle was clean, comfortable and well-maintained. The radio equipment worked really well, enabling all of our small group to hear the guide clearly. I would have given this tour five stars, but I'm reducing that to four because the day before the tour we were contacted by the local tour operator to say that "unfortunately, we are currently facing some issues with our tour guide" and requesting that we changed the time of the tour from morning to afternoon. The communication throughout the changes was good, and luckily, we were able to be flexible, but as they couldn't provide what we originally booked I don't feel I can give the full five stars.
Our guide was informative and spoke English well. He seemed a bit bias in how he thought events occurred through history. He was also late to start the tour.
This experience was about understanding humanity through the ages, and a wonderful guide willing to share her passion and detailed knowledge. A priceless experience.
The private tour of the catacombs and St Clement's Church was excellent. Francesca was wonderful and so professional. The catacombs were a bit cool, so bring a light jacket.
Tour guide knowledge Great experience our guide made it so enjoyable and we learned a lot from him fabulous
I think Viator outsourced our tour to another tour group. Would have preferred we stay w a Viator guide. Our Guide was excellent, though, and very knowledgeable and organized and answered questions well. Transportation was kind of disjointed, having to wait several times. But traffic was not tour’s fault.
Both the catacombs and St. Clement's were interesting experiences enjoyed by the whole family. We had great tour guides for both venues who gave the historical context for the sites in an enjoyable way. Definitely recommend!
This was a 2 part tour. The St. Clement was so interesting. It was a very small group, and the tour guide was excellent. Pointing out many things that we would have missed if we went on our own self guided tour. Well worth the money. A few people joined our group for the catacombs. It was also very interesting and group was still small. I highly recommend this tour for those interested in history of the early Christian Church!
Our guide was so knowledgeable and entertaining. Private tour is the way to go! Very organized and liked they took care of everything.
Fantastic stories of how people lived centuries ago and the guide was great and very expressive. What amazed me the most was how organised the people were centuries ago
This was our favorite excursion in Italy. We had a wonderful guide, Daniel, that was extremely knowledgeable about the sites and history. It was amazing to be the only 2 people on the tour. We spent most of our time at Domitilla where you cannot take pics but we had plenty of time to buy professional images at the gift shop. We were chauffeured in a very comfortable van to st Clement’s. What a great experience, worth every penny!
This was without a doubt this best tour we did in Rome. Our guide was amazing, very informative, kind and knowledgeable. St Clements basilica was a hidden gem with her “Lasagna” layers of ancient dwellings and outstanding basilica roof.
We enjoyed two tours in one with our excellent guide Lorenzo! The tours included underground views of the church dating back to the 4th century and unground tours of the catacombs dating back to the first century. Our guide was very informative and pleasant. We would definitely recommend this tour if you’re looking for a nice half day excursion.
Guide was knowledgable and friendly. Really enjoyed the tour! Lots to see and learn... definately recommend!
Paul was an endless font of knowledge, who seems to love what he does. I only wish I had a notebook with me! So much information about major ancient historical events.
We were very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable guide through San Clemente and the catacombs. He was able to answer all our questions.
Took this tour as i was interested in the history, paintings and frescoes found in the Catacombs and the Basilica. Samuele my guide was exceptional. We discussed my interests at the start of the tour and my interest in the art work. The tour started with a drive to the Catacombs of Domitilla. There was good narration / question and answer all the way there. At the catacombs Samuele took care of everything. From beginning to end shared all the important information regarding the burial site. He wove in a lot of knowledge regarding the art present in the underground system. We returned to St. Clement's Basilica and had the same experience. He shared all the important information regarding the tiered structure and wove in all types of details regarding the paintings found in the building. It felt like sharing time with a PHD of the two areas we toured. He picked up on the fact i had traveled all night on an overnight flight and graciously repeated things i didn't hear through my tiredness. Overall a great experience and would recommend Samuele as a guide.
This was an amazing tour and our guide was phenomenal. Her name was Marle Robinson and you must request her because her knowledge is mind blowing! We are changed forever after spending the afternoon with her. The catacombs are truly amazing and your must see them. Judy
This is the best tour I did in Rome! Very interesting sites, our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. The group was also small which was a plus.
We had a wonderful experience with Sara as our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and interesting. By happy accident we were the only people signed up for this tour so our family had a private guide! We saw and learned so much about the catacombs, the artwork in and around some of the burials, and the history of the region. I had chosen this catacomb tour because I had heard St. Domitilla were the best in Rome, despite others being, perhaps, more popularly visited. They did not disappoint! And we loved that they were less crowded than others as well. We ended our morning with a tour of St Clement's church which surprised us as one of our favorite churches in Italy. This was largely due to having Sara to explain what we were seeing in the frescoes and the significance of all the three levels of history encompassed by the church and it's underground. We would not have gotten as much out of that church without having a guide with us. We probably would not have known to visit it at all but it was well worth it.
There were three of us as a family, and so the tour felt very personal. The tour was very competent, informative and entertaining. Highly recommended!
Es war sehr gut organisiert, spannend und informativ. Der Transport verlief problemlos und der Guide war pünktlich.
Esperienza decisamente interessante: Chiara, la nostra guida molto competente ed esperta, non ha esitato a rispondere alle nostre numerose domande e curiosità, ha saputo catapultarci nella Roma Antica e farci vivere, per qualche ora, un’esperienza culturalmente unica.
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