Catacombs in Rome

Exploring the Dark Side of Rome with Dark Rome Tours

There are so many cool historical things to see in Rome. There’s the Vatican, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and dozens of churches. But what about off the beaten track sights in Rome? I recently had a chance to join Dark Rome for two of their flagship tours to see the “dark side” of Rome. Since I’m not much for nightlife, spending time on a Rome night tour was the perfect nightcap for my visit to the Eternal City. Here are a few options for seeing a different side of Rome with Dark Rome Tours.

Ghosts, Mysteries, and Legends of Rome Night Walking Tour

Originally the “Dark Heart of Rome,” this is the original tour that spawned Dark Rome tours way back in 2004. Instead of telling you about the virtuous saints and do-gooders of Rome, Dark Rome tells you about the secrets and the sinners. I took this tour at the end of my Rome trip and it was fun to have a contrast from the other stories I’d been hearing all week.

The Ghosts, Mysteries, and Legends of Rome Night Walking Tour meets at 7:45 pm at a meeting point not far from the city center. Our tour guide, Jon, was an American living in Rome, whose theatrical storytelling made the tour so engaging. We learned about Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake in Campo de’ Fiori. We also learned about the ghost of Donna Olimpia, a rich and famous woman who became a benefactor to sex workers of Rome and now haunts the Ponte Sisto. At the Church of St. Mary of the Dead, thousands of indigent Romans who couldn’t afford burials were buried here. Similar to the Capuchin Crypts, their bones were used as furniture and decoration.

My favorite story of the night was that of Giulia Toffana, but I won’t spoil the story for you. You have to take the tour to find out the darkest secrets of Rome!

The tour ends at the beautiful Castel Sant'Angelo, which was originally built as a fortress for the Pope. The bridge leading to the castle, Ponte Sant’Angelo, is lined with angels that tell the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. While the bridge and castle would make for a fantastic early morning photo spot, it’s pretty spectacular to see it lit up at night.

The Original Crypts and Catacombs Tour

On our first day in Rome, we joined Dark Rome tours for a tour of the catacombs in Rome, as well as two other related sights. The Original Crypts and Catacombs Tour meets in Barberini Plaza in the late afternoon, so it’s the perfect activity to keep you awake if you’ve just arrived from the US. There are three stops on the tour, and the order will vary by which group you are in. We walked a short way out of the city center and boarded a bus to our first stop. During the 25-minute bus ride, we got a fantastic introduction from our guide, Andrea, a Rome native who was passionate about the history of his city.

St. Calixtus, Catacombs of Rome is the first stop on this Dark Rome tour. A joke I heard several times in Rome is that “you don’t go digging in Rome, as something will always pop up.” Rome has over 60 different catacombs, with tunnels stretching over 300 kilometers. That’s enough to stretch all the way from Rome to Florence!

As someone who doesn’t have a religious bone in their body, I’m thankful we had such excellent tour guides to give us enough background to understand the in-depth history of Rome. So, let’s go back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries when Christianity was illegal in Rome. Hard to imagine, right? Cremation was the rule of the day back then, but Christians believed that they would need their bodies again after resurrection.

Since burial went against the Roman traditions, Christians had to find burial sites outside of the city walls. And this is why there are so many Christian catacombs scattered around outside of Rome. The St. Calixtus catacombs are four layers deep, often to a depth of about 25 meters. This spot was later called “Little Vatican” as 9 of 16 Popes were laid to rest here.

Today, few bodies or bones remain in the catacombs as they’ve all been relocated. What you see today are the empty tombs, a reminder of a different time.

Our next stop on the Rome Catacombs tour is the Basilica San Clemente. The structure we see today is an 18th-century wooden basilica, built on top of a 4th-century church, built on top of a pagan temple. This is one of the most beautiful and ancient churches in Rome, named after Pope Clemente I, the fourth Pope. Here you can also find the tomb of Saint Cyril, who helped translate the Bible into Slavic language. Most of the tour is spent in the underground areas of the basilica, so you may want to return to spend more time in the actual basilica as it’s quite beautiful.

Our third and final stop on the Crypts and Catacombs tour was by far the most memorable. The Capuchin Crypt is actually what I was picturing when I think of catacombs. Located in six rooms beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, the crypts contain the bones of over 3,700 skeletons. Many of the bones are believe to have come from capuchin friars, hence the name of the crypts. (Fun fact: capuchin monkeys of South and Central America were so named due to their coloring resembling the dark robes worn by the friars.)

I was completely speechless during this part of the tour and I still have trouble describing what we saw. Six rooms filled with thousands of bones in various Baroque and floral sculptures. One room is all skulls, while another is all pelvic bones. Looking up at the ceilings, even the chandeliers and sconces were made of human bones. This is definitely one of the most interesting things to see in Rome.

What makes it even more important is that as bones fall from the walls and sculptures, they must be buried, they cannot be returned to the designs. So, eventually, there will be no “bone chapel” of Rome. Go see it while you can!

Dark Rome Tours

Dark Rome tours started in 2004 with the Rome night tour that I took. They soon expanded into other tours in Rome, becoming the first tour operator to run a Crypts and Catacombs tour. Dark Rome then spread throughout Italy and eventually went international, launching the City Wonders brand as a parent company to Dark Rome. They now run tours in several Italian cities, as well as Paris, London, and Barcelona, with over one million travelers joining a City Wonders tour each year!