Private Underground Rome Tour inc Transportation: Ancient Catacombs and Secret Temples

Fully explore the depth of the Eternal City with a fascinating tour of the subterranean labyrinths below its surface - the underworld of Rome. You'll get private access through these ancient underground cemeteries and feel the magnitude of the catacombs as you quietly walk among the now empty graves

 - Enter Basilica San Clemente and the Catacombs 
 - Discover subterranean tunnels, different kinds of tombs and the cult of Mithras 
 - Learn about the two millennia old layers of history underneath the Eternal City 
 - Witness some of the most important early-day Christian frescoes in the world
 - See one of the earliest depictions of the Virgin Mary

The quiet tunnels will come to life as your guide tells you the stories and legends of early Christianity during the days of Roman persecution. The catacombs were the underground burial places of the Christian and Jewish communities from the second century AD. Christians would gather in the Catacombs for funerals and to celebrate the anniversaries of martyrs and the dead. During the time of Christian persecution the catacombs served as the burial site for Christian martyrs and were also used to celebrate the mass in secret. Around the year 366 AD these underground cemeteries became shrines for the martyrs and popular sites for pilgrimages

Step into this mystical maze and see some of the most important Christian frescoes in the world - such as the earliest depiction of the Virgin Mary and the oldest image of the Magi kings. Learn how the catacombs were started, and listen to the stories of some of the important figures, including Saints Peter and Paul, who were once buried there. See how pagan artwork translated into Christian Rome

Discover within these subterranean tunnels, the different kinds of tombs - arcosolium, the sarcophagus, the forma, the cubiculum and the crypt. Learn about the special guild of workers referred to as fossores - ' gravediggers' - who dug miles and miles of these galleries in the dim light of oil lamps. Don't miss out on the opportunity to see this awe-inspiring underworld beneath one of the most ancient cities in the world