Rome: Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics Walking Tour
Description
Take a fascinating journey through an underground pagan temple and four impressive churches to understand the very early stages of Christianity. See original relics from the Crucifixion of Christ and soil from the Holy Land. Please note: In the event that certain areas of one of the churches are closed, your guide will adapt the itinerary by highlighting alternative sites. As a result, the overall duration will remain unchanged
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will enjoy a fascinating journey deep underground St. Clement's Basilica, a few meters away from the Colosseum. You will go through three layers of ancient monuments built on top of each other, and learn about forgotten pagan cults, early Christianity, and mystic symbolism. You will visit the best preserved Temple of Mithras and touch the underground river flowing below the streets of Rome and below the Colosseum. You will marvel at ancient mosaics and at the stories they portray. You will appreciate the intimacy of a small group of maximum 10 people
Having learned about paganism, the early persecutions and the martyrs, make a walk to the Cathedral of Rome, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and find out why it is known as “Mother and head of all churches on Earth”. Be impressed by the beauty of the golden interior and the ancient frescos and hear about Emperor Constantine and why he legalized Christianity in 313.
Learn about the Emperor’s mother, St. Helena, and her pilgrimage to Jerusalem to recover the artifacts, safeguarded by the early underground church in the Holy Land. Among those, see the Holy Stairs, the original stairs of the praetorium which Jesus climbed at his judgment.
Finally, walk to the church built with earth brought from the Holy land, the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and see the other Holy Relics secured by Helena including a nail from the Crucifixion, the walnut board Pontius Pilate put above the cross as well as the wood of the Cross Jesus was crucified on. See also fragments of the wall from the cave of the nativity in Bethlehem and two thorns of the crown of the Passion of Christ.
Choose to extend your journey to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where stunning mosaics and sacred relics offer insight into the church's importance in Christian history.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Please note: In the event that certain areas of one of the churches are closed, your guide will adapt the itinerary by highlighting alternative sites. As a result, the overall duration will remain unchanged
- An appropriate dress-code is required in order to enter the churches: knees and shoulders should be covered.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes: a moderate amount of walking is involved.
- This tour is not wheelchair-accessible.
- This tour is subject to weather conditions and/or liturgic-calendar events. If canceled you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund.
- Not recommended for people with claustrophobia
Reviews(91)
Daniel was our guide and he did such a great job! We ended up being the only 2 on the tour so we received personalized service - even found one of the public water fountains for us to fill our water bottles! Lots of walking and extremely hot, but exactly what we wanted to see. Thank you!
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our guided tour with Daniel!
Going deep to history of church and relics . Nice tour with 4 people group and Daniel our tour guide was very educated. We loved it …
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground temples and Relics tour with Daniel.
Very knowledgeable and friendly. Great way to see some of the best churches in Rome. Great for solo, family and friends as well.
Thank you so much! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Temples and Relics guided tour!
Unfortunately the reason we did the tour was because of the Christian relics including the wood from the cross, nail from crucifiction, thorns from the crown, and the wooden sign saying “King of the Jews” that was above the cross. None of those things were shown on the tour. When we asked about them half way through the tour, we were told it was at the first location we visited but not available for viewing. Then in another church we visited, we were told there was the seat of Jesus at the last supper in the room that cost $3 to see but wasn’t part of our tour. Why was that not part of our tour. We wouldn’t have cared about paying $3. Add our guide was very cynical in his delivery of information. He spoke perfectly English as he was from America, but I had a much harder time following his delivery than any of the other tour guides with a strong accent. I felt like I was back in college in history class where the professor had a wealth of knowledge but spoke down to the class. I walked away feeling like I learned nothing and probably missed a lot of valuable knowledge because of the cynical delivery.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear that the tour didn't meet your expectations. We understand that seeing the Christian relics, the nail from crucifixion and the wooden sign was one of the main reasons you booked this experience and that it must have been disappointing to not have seen them, so we're sorry this wasn't made clear during the tour. We're also sorry to hear that our guide's presentation style wasn't to your liking. We know that every guest has different expectations, and while many visitors appreciate his depth of knowledge, we understand that his approach didn't resonate with you. Your comments will be taken into consideration as we are always looking for ways to improve the experience we provide. Thank you again for your feedback, and we hope you'll consider joining us again in the future.
Our guide, Daniel, was very knowledgeable and funny. We enjoyed our experience and would recommend!!
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour with Daniel.
Brilliant tour, excellent guide and inspiring experience. Definitely a highlight of my trip would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in Christian history.
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour with us.
The church where the crucifix relics is undergoing renovation so were unable to visit. The tour guide was great with explaining all details in every church we went in. Great tour.
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our tour!
This was a great tour for us and our guide was phenomenal! Unfortunately we weren’t able to see some of the expected relics due to an unforeseen incident but our guide made up for it by taking us to see other things that weren’t planned. We would highly recommend this tour!
Thank you for your review, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Temples and Crucifixion Relics walking tour!
Best tour in Rome! Our tour guide Daniel was so educated about every church else visited. A spiritual experience if you are looking for that feeling.
Thank you so much, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our Underground Churches and Relics tour with Daniel!
Excellent Tour and Guide. Daniel spent a great deal of time telling us exceptional stories of the different things we were looking at and going to. He was very patient and answered all our questions as well. The tour took us through several locations, all with very unique things to see. I would highly recommend this tour and Daniel!
Thank you! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our guided tour with Daniel :)
