The Roman Catacombs on the Ancient Appian Way
Beneath the pines of the ancient Appian Way, a few metres under the surface, lies one of Rome's most haunting places: the catacombs. With Silvia, we walk the Via Appia Antica out of the city and then descend into the dark — into the early Christian cemeteries that history, for a long time, completely misunderstood.
Walking the ancient Appian Way
The Via Appia Antica was one of the great roads of the ancient empire, running roughly 600 kilometres from Rome all the way down to Brindisi, in Puglia. Today it's a wonderful place simply to walk or cycle: umbrella-shaped maritime pines (the pino marittimo typical of Rome), villas, archaeological sites and antiquities on either side, and a silence you rarely find this close to a capital. One warning — in summer it gets very hot, so avoid the middle of the day, go early morning or late afternoon, and always carry water. Handily, Rome is full of nasoni (“big noses”), the cast-iron street fountains that run cold, fresh, drinkable water for free.
The myth: Christians never hid in the catacombs
Here is the thing almost everyone gets wrong. The popular story — that early Christians used the catacombs as secret hiding places during persecution — is simply not true. It's a legend that grew up in the 19th century. The catacombs were never hideouts; they were cemeteries. This is where Christians came to bury their dead, to pray for them, and to remember them. Understanding that changes the whole visit: you're not walking through a bunker, you're walking through a burial ground.
Into the dark
Today the catacombs are lit and completely safe — you go down with a guide, in a group, and you can always see where to step. But try to imagine the past: the only light was the small flame of a terracotta oil lamp or a lantern. It was a place of true darkness. Picture coming down here to bury someone you loved, or returning a year later to mark their passing, into a space this dark and this silent. It is, honestly, a goosebump experience. A fair warning, though: if you're seriously claustrophobic, this may be one to admire from the surface.
San Callisto, San Sebastiano — and why there are no photos
Rome has nearly 50 catacombs, though only some are open to visitors. Two of the most important, the catacombs of San Callisto and San Sebastiano, sit close together along this stretch of the Appian Way. Inside San Sebastiano, photos and videos aren't allowed — the Vatican manages the site, and it's a matter of respect. Just as we don't photograph a modern cemetery, we don't here: people were buried in this place, and people came to grieve and to pray.
Visiting the catacombs: practical tips
The visit itself runs about 30 to 45 minutes — the right length for an underground site — and is led by the catacombs' own professional guides, in several languages, English included. Stay with your group: it's genuinely easy to lose yourself in the narrow passages, and you're only shown part of the network. Pair it with a walk or a bike ride on the Appian Way, ideally outside the midday heat, and you have one of the most atmospheric half-days Rome can offer.
A place like the catacombs means little without its story — and everything with it. Arriving with context is exactly what we help travellers do.
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Today we can walk down there actually several meters under the level of the ground it's really impressive and okay if you're claustrophobic better not but if you're not i warmly recommend to go to visit at least from catacomb it's really a a goosebump experience believe me hello we are in Rome we are
on the Appia road the ancient Appia that is one of the main roads of the ancient empire today with me there is nobody there is Silvia hi okay now we are walking we are walking on on this famous road right Silvia the Appia the ancient Appia yes and we are we are going
to the catacombs yes we go to see the place the ancient Christian cemetery actually what was the legend Silvia that the Christians used to hide underground but it's false yes it's not true in the 19th century this legend grew up like saying that the Christians used to gather in the catacombs and to
hide but this is not true that was just their cemetery so they used to go to the cemetery to uh bury their beloved ones and that's it Appia road is one of the main street one of the most important and connects nowadays actually Brindisi that is in Puglia so far far away in
the in the south direct to Rome yes it's very nice here there are a lot of bike tours yeah i would like to do once actually yeah yeah it's very nice you can you can join all the all the road that is uh that is very long also the pedestrian part is uh
is really long so now we we walk a little bit but with the bike it's very nice there are many villas many archaeological archaeological sites and there are here a lot of antiquities on your left on your right you can you can really enjoy the the panorama are you ready to go to
Brindisi yes you are in the wrong direction that's true yes no no yes that's not only the wrong direction i'm not only in the wrong direction it is also follow you for five minutes you're very funny guy there would be 600 kilometers so a long road we just walk a bit here just
to enjoy uh the view and the nature and uh these amazing trees pino marittimo maritime pine that is typical of Rome and uh but we have to go to the catacombs so ready ready yeah so now it's June but but it's very hot so yes if you want to to take a walk
here on the ancient happy you can do it it's it's very beautiful but avoid midday because if it's sunny it could be really hard if you're not used to walk it can be a bit hard yeah so uh the best thing is to walk here uh at the very early morning or in
the afternoon when the sun is less warm and uh so you will enjoy it really yeah yeah and always water yes of course because the ancient road is a bit on here yeah yeah you can see there okay yeah so if you come here with the bike it could be very nice to
to join this road but keep in mind that you have to pay attention yes absolutely yeah there aren't too many people here yes yes we just uh us and a few other people around because probably because it's hot yeah yes now it's noon so it's not the right time to come here uh
and uh but the catacombs are quite close both of uh San Callisto and San Sebastiano so both very interesting and uh so everything is quite close yeah the catacombs actually are almost 50 in in Rome but not all are allowed to to go in yes exactly and also in the catacomb of San
Sebastiano uh it's not possible to make to make photos or videos and that's for respect to respect the place because that is an ancient cemetery and this is the will of the Vatican that is managing uh the catacombs like today guys when we go to a cemetery we don't take pictures uh yeah
and uh it's the same thing people were there people were praying their beloved ones suffered so it's not really place to uh to take videos so sylvia we are in front of the entrance of the catacombs of uh San Sebastiano yes and uh so let's go let's go i also refilled my waters
oh yeah in Rome there are nasoni everywhere it means uh big noses a lot of fountains yes yes and uh for free offices yeah so the water is really good and fresh yes so okay let's go guys one thing that really uh impressed me is uh the darkness of the catacombs today they
are unlighted of course and there will be a tour guide taking you there with a group of people uh so you see where to walk it's totally safe but imagine in the past they were uh under the under the ground and you could see only with the light of a lamp a little
lamp lantern and one of the little kinds in terracotta that were functioning with oil and so it was a place of darkness so think of that you have your beloved ones they're buried and you want to go to bury them or to pray or i don't know uh a year pass and you
want to celebrate you know their departure or you want to remember their departure but you're going to a very dark place so it has to be quite uh you know goose bumps uh probably and uh impressive the visit will not take so long because uh it takes uh 30 or 45 minutes but
uh that is the the right duration of the the excursion the visit because you go underground so yeah it's enough it's enough yeah yeah it will be done by professional tour guides of the catacombs uh very polite very nice and uh with a group of people in different languages and but for sure
there's english and um so in 45 minutes you will have a glance of uh of what was a catacomb uh you won't be allowed to go everywhere but as we were saying before we could also yeah it's better because you know better not to um lose yourself there in the little streets of
a catacomb so better to stay with the group believe me if you enjoyed this video and you'd like to discover the real italy beyond the usual tourist routes make sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel we publish new videos every week sharing the history art culture and local experiences that
make italy one of the most fascinating countries in the world thank you so much for you so much for watching and we'll see you in the next video you