Catacombe di San Callisto

Useful Information

Location:	Via Appia Antica, 110/126, 00179 Roma. In the southern suburbs of Rome, at the Via Appia Antiqua. From the motorway Grande Raccordo Anulare (Great Ring Road) use exit 24 or 27. Uscita 24 Roma centro - Fosse Ardeatine, follow Via Ardeatina to the Fosse Ardeatine, public parking opposite the Catacombs. Uscita 27 Via Cristoforo Colombo, follow Via Cristoforo Colombo towards the center. (41.8590708, 12.5107044)
Open:	All year Thu-Tue 9-12, 14-17. Online booking is mandatory, after selecting the language available tours are shown. [2026]
Fee:	Adults EUR 10, Children (7-16) EUR 7, Children (0-6) free, Students (-25) EUR 7, Disabled free. [2026]
Classification:	Catacomb Roman Catacombs
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	L=1,000 km
Guided tours:	D=40 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Catacombe di San Callisto, The Catacombs of St. Callixtus, Via Appia Antica, 110/126, 00179 Roma, Tel: +39-06-513-01-51. E-mail: Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology (P.C.A.S.), Via Napoleone III, 1, 00185 Roma, Tel: +39-06-446-5610. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

~800	the Pope ordered to remove the relics of the martyrs and the saints to the city churches for security reasons, the catacombs were no longer visited.
1854	rediscovered by the Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi.
1930	guided tours of the catacombs entrusted to the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Description

The Catacombe di San Callisto (Catacombs of Saint Callixtus) are the site which is the most well known of all catacombs in Rome. They are also among the largest with a network of tunnels approximately 19 km long, four levels and a depth of more than 20 m. They are named after the deacon Callixtus. At the beginning of the 3rd century he was appointed by Pope Zephyrinus as the administrator of the cemetery. He enlarged a pre-existing early Christian hypogeum. Later he became Pope Callixtus I, but after his death he was entombed in the Catacomb of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way, not here. In these catacombs tens of martyrs and 16 popes were buried. One chamber is called Cappella dei Papi (Crypt of the Popes) which once contained the tombs of several popes from the 2nd to 4th century.

When tolerance was granted to the Christian religion, the use of catacombs declined. At the end of the 4th century the use of the catacombs more or less ended, later they were not even visited. But they were raided and so the artworks were in danger, and around 800 the Pope ordered to remove the relics of the martyrs and the saints to the city churches. This ended even the few remaining visits to the catacombs and they were forgotten. The existence of catacombs was rediscovered in the 17th century, but this one was rediscovered in 1854 by the Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi.

The catacomb complex covers an area of some 30 ha, the Catacomb of Callixtus has 15 ha. The tunnels have five different levels, and the passages are estimated to be about 20 km long. In this catacomb about 500,000 people were buried. The highlights of the tour are the most ancient parts, including the crypt of Lucina, the region of the Popes and the region of Saint Cecilia,