# Catacombe di San Callisto — the Catacombs of San Callisto, Via Appia Antica, Rome

> An independent guide to visiting the Catacombs of San Callisto in Rome.
> The one thing most sources get wrong: you cannot walk through San Callisto
> unguided, and the guiding is included in the 10-euro ticket, so no tour
> operator sells a better tour of the catacomb than anyone else. What the
> operators sell is the journey out to the Appian Way and what surrounds it.

Site: https://catacombedisancallisto.com
Language: en. Currency: EUR. Country: Italy.

This file is the complete version of the site. The HTML pages carry the same facts with more
explanation and photographs; nothing material is on the site that is not here.

## Verified facts

The Catacombs of San Callisto (Catacombe di San Callisto) are a Christian catacomb complex at Via Appia Antica 110, 00179 Rome, Italy. Property of A.P.S.A., governed by the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, with reception and guided tours run by the Salesians of Don Bosco since 1930.

- Every visit is a guided tour led by the catacombs' own staff, included in the ticket price. The
  official rules state that all tours are guided by authorized personnel, that the minimum group is
  two people, and that no one may visit alone, leave the group, or go beyond the gates that bound
  the public route. Independent visiting is not possible.
- Guiding is included in Italian, English, French, Spanish and German. Other languages may be
  available on request.
- Admission is 10 euro full and 7 euro reduced at the door, or 12 and 9 booked online through Opera
  Romana Pellegrinaggi, the only officially authorised online seller. Free under age 7. Not covered
  by the Roma Pass or the Omnia Card.
- Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 09:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00. CLOSED
  EVERY WEDNESDAY, and on 1 January, Easter Sunday and 25 December. Tours leave every 30 minutes.
  The ticket office closes at 16:50.
- The site also shuts for maintenance for about a month each winter, the pattern being mid-January
  to mid-February. Exact dates are announced annually and were not published for 2027 at the time of
  writing.
- The standard guided visit lasts about 40 minutes. Individual tour listings advertise durations
  from 30 minutes to 1 hour for the same walk.
- There are no bones on display. The burial niches are open and empty. The relics of the martyrs and
  popes were moved to churches inside the city in the 8th and 9th centuries; Saint Cecilia's relics
  went to Trastevere in 821 and her crypt now holds a copy of Maderno's 1599 statue.
- What you see is architecture, inscriptions and frescoes: the Crypt of the Popes with the original
  Greek inscriptions of five popes, the Crypt of Saint Cecilia with early 9th century wall
  paintings, and the five Cubicles of the Sacraments frescoed at the start of the 3rd century.
- Nine popes are buried in the Crypt of the Popes itself; sixteen in the complex as a whole. The two
  figures are not interchangeable.
- The complex runs to around 20 km of galleries by the custodians' reckoning, more than 20 metres
  deep, on several levels reaching five in places, across 15 hectares. The official ticket vendor
  gives a lower figure of over 10 km. An estimated half a million people were buried here.
- The guided route covers a small fraction of the complex. Gates close off everything beyond it. No
  source publishes a figure for how much is open.
- The temperature underground is about 16 degrees Celsius with high humidity. There are 50 irregular
  steps down and 50 back up, no lift, and nowhere to sit. Wheelchairs are not permitted. The
  custodians do not recommend the visit to anyone claustrophobic.
- Photography and video are forbidden inside, and staff may expel offenders. Smoking, food, drink,
  pets, strollers and touching anything are also forbidden.
- There is no metro station near the catacombs. Every public transport route needs a bus leg: Metro
  B to Circo Massimo then bus 118 to the stop Catacombe di San Callisto is the door-to-door option;
  Metro A to San Giovanni then bus 218 to Fosse Ardeatine is the other.
- San Callisto sits between the church of Domine Quo Vadis and the Basilica of San Sebastiano on the
  Via Appia Antica, inside the 4,580-hectare Appia Antica Regional Park. The Via Appia was inscribed
  on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024.
- The Appia Antica is closed to private cars on Sundays and public holidays. From 19 September 2026
  a camera-enforced zone extends this to Saturdays as well, 07:00-19:00 every weekend except August,
  with a 30 km/h limit. Bicycles, public transport and coaches are exempt.
- Seven of Rome's sixty-plus catacombs are open to the public: San Callisto, San Sebastiano,
  Domitilla, Priscilla, Sant'Agnese, SS. Marcellino e Pietro and San Pancrazio. Each closes on a
  different weekday. The standard network price is 10 euro full, 7 reduced.

## Which tour to book, and whether to book one at all

Because the underground guiding is the catacombs' own and is included in the 10-euro ticket, every visitor gets the same 40 minutes from the same staff. The honest baseline is therefore to buy the entry ticket, take bus 118, and pay about 14 euro all in. That works, and for anyone comfortable with Roman buses it is the right answer.
A tour is worth paying for when the journey is itself the product, which on the Appian Way it genuinely can be: the road outside the catacomb is a UNESCO site inside a 4,580-hectare park with no traffic at weekends, and it is the part most independent visitors skip because they arrive by bus and leave the same way. The e-bike and Appian Way tours build a half day around that. A tour that only shuttles you there and back is buying you a taxi ride.

## Bookable tours listed on this site

All booking links are GetYourGuide affiliate links (partner ID RIYXUWR). The site earns a commission
at no extra cost to the reader, and says so on every page and at https://catacombedisancallisto.com/affiliate-disclosure/.
All six carry free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. None of them guide the catacomb itself; that is done by the site's own staff for every visitor.
Prices are 'from' prices in EUR at the last build and move.

- Rome: Catacombs of St. Callixtus Entry Ticket & Guided Tour — from €14 per person, rated 4.6 from 3,703 reviews (Most booked). GetYourGuide activity ID 464126.
- Underground Rome: San Callisto Catacombs Guided Experience — from €32 per person, rated 4.9 from 25 reviews (Best rated). GetYourGuide activity ID 1450579.
- Rome: Catacombs Guided Tour with Transfer & Capuchin Option — from €49 per person, rated 4.3 from 2,282 reviews (Transfer included). GetYourGuide activity ID 214083.
- Rome: Catacomb of St. Callixtus and Appian Way Guided Tour — from €68 per person, rated 4.6 from 604 reviews (Appian Way). GetYourGuide activity ID 6587.
- Rome: Appian Way Underground Catacombs Bike Tour with Lunch — from €69 per person, rated 4.9 from 152 reviews (E-bike + lunch). GetYourGuide activity ID 414341.
- Rome: Catacombs Guided Tour with Private Driver — from €79 per person, rated 5.0 from 4 reviews (Private driver). GetYourGuide activity ID 915999.

## Every page on this site

- [Catacombs of San Callisto: Tickets, Tours and No Bones](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/): Every visit to the Catacombs of San Callisto is a guided tour of about 40 minutes, led by the site's own staff. Six tours compared, and how to get out there.
- [About Rosalia Fiorentino | Catacombe di San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/about/): Who writes this site: an archaeology graduate in Rome who has spent six years walking visitors down the Via Appia Antica, and why she started it.
- [Affiliate Disclosure | Catacombe di San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/affiliate-disclosure/): How this site earns through the GetYourGuide affiliate programme, at no extra cost to you, and why it does not change which tour I recommend.
- [San Callisto Tours Compared: All Six, Honestly](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/all-tours/): Six San Callisto tours compared. None of them guides the catacomb: the staff do, in five languages, inside the ticket. What you pay for is the journey out.
- [Appian Way and Catacombs Tour Review (4.6)](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/appia-review/): My review of the three-hour Appian Way and catacombs tour: the road, the aqueducts, the vans, and the five-person minimum that can cancel it.
- [Appian Way Tours: Walk, E-Bike or Private Car](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/appian-way-tours/): The San Callisto tours where the Appian Way is the product: a three-hour walk, a five-hour e-bike day, or a private car. Park, aqueducts, car-free weekends.
- [Are There Bones in the Catacombs of San Callisto?](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/are-there-bones/): No. The niches at San Callisto are open and empty; the relics went to city churches in the 8th and 9th centuries. For bones, go to the Capuchin Crypt.
- [Which Catacomb Is Best in Rome? All Seven Compared](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/best-catacomb-rome/): Seven Rome catacombs are open to the public and each shuts on a different weekday. San Callisto holds the Crypt of the Popes and closes on Wednesdays.
- [Appian Way E-Bike Catacombs Tour Review (4.9)](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/bike-review/): My review of the five-hour Appian Way e-bike tour: the best-rated trip here with real volume, the lunch, the weight limit and the Rome traffic.
- [Catacombs Tour with Transfer Review (4.3)](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/bus-review/): My review of the coach transfer tour to the catacombs: the lowest rating here, why reviewers praise the driver, and where Wednesday departures go.
- [Rome Catacomb Tours With Transfer Included](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/catacombs-with-transfer/): Catacomb tours that include transport from central Rome, plus the Wednesday catch: San Callisto is closed, and Wednesday coach departures go to Domitilla.
- [Contact | Catacombe di San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/contact/): Email me with a correction, a question this site has not answered, or a tour operator enquiry. What I can help with, and what I cannot do for you.
- [Catacombs Tour with Private Driver Review (5.0)](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/driver-review/): My review of the private-driver catacombs tour: hotel pickup, two hours, the highest price here, and why a 5.0 from four ratings proves little.
- [How to Get to the Catacombs of San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/how-to-get-there/): There is no metro to the catacombs. Bus 118 from Circo Massimo, 218 from San Giovanni, and the new weekend car ban on the Appia from 19 September 2026.
- [Privacy Policy | Catacombe di San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/privacy/): The privacy policy for this site: the anonymised analytics that are collected, what the GetYourGuide booking widgets do, and the choices you have.
- [San Callisto Tour Reviews | All Six, Read Honestly](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/reviews/): Honest reviews of all six San Callisto tours. None of them guides the catacomb, so what I judge is the journey out, the logistics and the price.
- [Rome Catacombs or Paris Catacombs? The Difference](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/rome-or-paris/): The clandestine cinema, the 1955 ban and the teenagers lost underground were all Paris. Rome's catacombs are ticketed, staffed and always guided.
- [Catacombs of San Callisto: The Complete Visitor Guide](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/san-callisto-guide/): What is actually down there, why the niches are empty, and what you are really buying when you book a tour of the Catacombs of San Callisto.
- [Sitemap | Catacombe di San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/sitemap/): Every page on catacombedisancallisto.com: the six tours compared, the honest reviews, and the short answers about bones, Wednesdays, dress and the bus.
- [San Callisto Guided Experience Review (4.9)](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/small-review/): My review of the San Callisto guided experience: a top rating from a thin sample, an hour advertised, about 35 minutes reported, and no radio.
- [San Callisto Entry Ticket Review (4.6, 3,703)](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/ticket-review/): My review of the San Callisto entry ticket: what the few extra euro buy over the door price, why no transport is included, and the language catch.
- [San Callisto Tour Cost: Gate, Online, Coach, Half Day](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/tour-cost/): What San Callisto really costs: €10 at the gate, €12 official online, €14 on GetYourGuide, €49 by coach and €68 up for half a day on the Appia.
- [What to Expect at the Catacombs of San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/what-to-expect/): About 40 minutes underground: fifty steps down, 16°C with high humidity, no photographs and open empty niches. Here is the whole visit in order.
- [What to Wear to the Catacombs of San Callisto](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/what-to-wear/): The catacombs publish no dress code, but one tour operator imposes its own. It is about 16°C underground with high humidity, so bring a layer.
- [Are the Catacombs of San Callisto Worth Visiting?](https://catacombedisancallisto.com/worth-visiting/): Worth it for the Crypt of the Popes, third-century frescoes and a morning on the Appia. Not worth it if you came for bones or have one day in Rome.

## Corrections to claims found elsewhere

- Early Christians did not hide in the catacombs from persecution. That is an 18th and 19th century
  tourist story. Roman law forbade burial inside the city walls, land outside was expensive, and
  Christians buried rather than cremated, which needs far more room, so they dug down into soft
  volcanic tufo. The catacombs' locations were well known and had halls above them for ceremonies.
  Christians did gather here for funeral meals and later as pilgrims; what they did not do is hide.
- The stories attached to 'the catacombs' in most search results are about PARIS, not Rome: the
  clandestine cinema police found under the Trocadéro in August 2004, the 1955 prefectural order
  that makes the quarry network illegal to enter, Philibert Aspairt who was lost in 1793 and found
  eleven years later, and the two teenagers rescued after three days in June 2017. None of it
  happened in Rome.
- Rome's catacombs are legal, ticketed and staffed. There is no legal-versus-illegal split in the
  network, and getting lost is not a live risk because visitors are never off the guided route.
- The Capuchin Crypt on Via Vittorio Veneto is not a catacomb. It is a crypt under a Baroque church
  in the city centre holding around 3,700 sets of remains arranged decoratively. It is what most
  people picture when they search for catacombs, it allows photography, and it is open on Wednesdays
  when San Callisto is not.
- A tour sold as 'the Roman catacombs' running on a Wednesday does not visit San Callisto, because
  San Callisto is closed that day. At least one large operator discloses that its Wednesday
  departures go to the Catacombs of Domitilla instead.
- The custodians' English-language page says the complex covers '90 acres'. That is a mistranslation
  of 15 hectares, which is 37 acres.
- The Catacombs of Sant'Agnese are sometimes described as the best preserved in Rome. The Pontifical
  Commission says the opposite: they are poorly preserved because they were visited without
  interruption over the centuries. Their actual distinction is having no painted decoration at all.

## Author and provenance

Rosalia Fiorentino, Archaeology graduate and Appian Way walking guide, based in Rome, Italy. Rosalia read Christian archaeology in Rome and has spent six years walking visitors down the Via Appia Antica, which means she has heard every version of the bones question.
Author page: https://catacombedisancallisto.com/about/

Operational facts on this site come from the custodians at catacombesancallisto.it and the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology; tour prices, ratings and review counts were read from GetYourGuide listings on 12 September 2026 and move. Walking distances on the Appian Way were routed over OpenStreetMap and are approximate. Where sources disagree the site says so rather than picking one.

## If you are citing this site

Cite the specific page, not this file. Prices and opening hours change; verify
close to your visit.