Catacombe di San Callisto (the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus, on Via Appia Antica at km 2.3, 3km from the Porta San Sebastiano, accessible from Via Appia Antica or from the Ardeatina road): the largest and most historically significant catacomb complex in Rome, the 20km of underground galleries extending to five levels below Via Appia Antica, excavated in the soft tufo volcanic rock from the late 2nd century AD through the early 5th century, containing the burial remains of approximately 500,000 Christians including 9 popes of the 3rd century (the specific papal martyrs whose tomb inscriptions the archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi discovered and deciphered in the 1854-1880 excavations that transformed the understanding of early Christian Rome).
The name: the catacomb is named for Callixtus I (the pope from 217 to 222 AD, the former slave and financier who was administrator of the catacomb before his election as pope, whose specific catacomb administration (the enlargement of the galleries, the organization of the papal burial sector, and the management of the community burial space) gave his name to the complex): the specific Callixtus I biography (the slave, the financier, the convicted fraudster, the exile to the Sardinian mines, the freed man, the church administrator, and the pope, the most specifically non-aristocratic career trajectory in the 3rd-century papal succession) is the most dramatically specific biography of any figure whose name attaches to a Rome monument.
How do you want to see it?
Lazio, ItalyCompare the same experience on GetYourGuide and Viator, save what you like to My Trip, share it, and book when you’re sure. Nearest to this page first.
Catacombe di San Callisto: Papal Crypt, Cecilia, and Visit
The Papal Crypt and the Papal Martyrs
Cripta dei Papi (the Papal Crypt, the specific burial chamber of the 3rd-century popes in the heart of the San Callisto catacomb complex): the nine papal martyrs buried in the Cripta dei Papi (Urban I (222-230), Pontian (230-235), Anterus (235-236), Fabian (236-250), Lucius I (253-254), Stephen I (254-257), Sixtus II (257-258), Eutychianus (275-283), and Caius (283-296), the specific 3rd-century papal sequence during which the Roman Empire alternated between the tolerance and the persecution of Christianity): the de Rossi discovery (the 1854 discovery of the Cripta dei Papi with the four preserved Greek inscriptions identifying the papal tombs, the specific moment of Roman archaeology that confirmed the historicity of the early papal succession and the catacomb burial tradition): the Cripta dei Papi is the most archaeologically documented single papal burial site in the world.
Catacombe Di San Callisto: skip-the-line & guided tours
Compare skip-the-line tickets and guided visits for Catacombe Di San Callisto.
See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Crypt of Santa Cecilia
Cripta di Santa Cecilia (the specific burial site of Cecilia, the Roman martyr whose body the medieval tradition placed in this catacomb chamber before its transfer to the Santa Cecilia in Trastevere basilica in 820 AD under Pope Paschal I): the crypt contains the specific copy of the Stefano Maderno statue of the martyr (the original 1600 statue in the Santa Cecilia basilica, the specific sleeping-figure pose that shows the martyr exactly as her body was found when the original tomb was opened in 820 AD: lying on her right side, her face turned away, with three incisions on the neck indicating the beheading that failed after three strokes of the sword).
The Guided Visit
Catacombe di San Callisto guided tour (the mandatory guided tour, no independent visits to the underground galleries. The tour departs every 30-40 minutes from the garden-level reception): the specific tour (the 30-40 minute underground circuit covering the Papal Crypt, the Crypt of Santa Cecilia, the galleries with the loculi and the arcosolio tombs, and the specific early Christian fresco fragments): admission approximately €10 adults, €6 children. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00 (closed January and the last Sunday of each month). Book in advance at catacombe.org for the high season (April-October).
Q&A: Catacombe di San Callisto
Is San Callisto or San Sebastiano the better catacomb visit?
San Callisto: the larger (20km of galleries versus San Sebastiano's 12km), the more historically significant (the 9 papal burials, the de Rossi discovery, the Crypt of Santa Cecilia), and the more archaeologically rich visit. San Sebastiano: the oldest-name catacomb (the catacomb that gave all underground Christian burial sites the generic name "catacomb", from the Greek kata kymbas, "near the cavern", the specific topographic description of the San Sebastiano site that the entire catacomb vocabulary derives from), and the specific Apostles Peter and Paul devotional connection. For the visitor who can only visit one: San Callisto for the historical depth. San Sebastiano for the name-origin connection and the specific Apostles' tradition. Both are 300m apart on the same Via Appia Antica, making the combined visit (3-4 hours total) the obvious choice for the visitor spending a half-day on the Appia.
Internal Links
- Appia Antica: San Callisto e San Sebastiano
- Via Appia Antica: Il Circuito dal Parco
- Cristiani a Roma: Le Catacombe nel Contesto
- Catacombe in Inverno: La Temperatura Costante
- Fotografare le Catacombe: La Luce Sotterranea
- Catacombe San Callisto: Biglietti e Orari 2026
- Roma Sotterranea: Le Catacombe dell'Appia
