Your LivTours Catacombs Night Tour in Rome starts with a guided tour of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, including exclusive access to the church’s loggia and a spiral stone staircase designed by Bernini. Then, you will descend underground, and visit an ancient roman home that was found and excavated under the church!
Once you have finished exploring the Santa Maria Maggiore, and night begins to fall, your LivTours expert guide will escort you to a waiting private chauffeured car that whisks all of you to the ancient catacombs for the next part of your Catacombs Night Tour in Rome.
Arriving at the Catacombs of Saint Agnes, your guide will explain the story of Saint Agnes, why so many works of art have been dedicated to this Christian martyr and her place in Christianity. As soon as you walk up the stunning courtyard, you will understand just how valuable this piece of cultural heritage is and why it is considered an Italian national treasure. Saint Agnes was a young noble girl who refused the son of a prefect, believing that “Jesus is my only spouse”. It was her Christian beliefs that created problems for her in a pagan Roman Empire and sadly she was soon turned into authorities and sentenced to death by beheading. The bones of her body are preserved in the Saint Agnes Catacombs, while her skull is preserved in the Saint Agnes Basilica in Piazza Navona.
Your guide will lead you down to the three tiers of catacombs to get a closer look at the ancient burial grounds of the past. You, your semi-private group, and your guide will join other LivTours groups and descend into the depths of the catacombs with a Saint Agnes Catacombs affiliated tour guide who will provide a full explanation. Your guide will have a flashlight so you don’t get lost among the many tombs along the way. Learn about the unusualness of this structure which had been abandoned for centuries, and was only discovered once again in the 16th century.
Once the Saint Agnes Catacombs guide has you back to ground level, you will enter the beautiful Saint Agnes Outside the Walls Basilica. This basilica was built in honor of the young martyr over the very spot where her remains lay and have long been a pilgrimage site for Christians. The basilica is part of a larger, prominent funerary complex that is also home to a mausoleum in honor of Costanza, the daughter of the famed Roman Emperor Constantine. In fact, both his daughters’ remains are buried here, venerated with priceless 4th-century mosaics, some depicting early depictions of Jesus. You will visit the Mausoleum in complete exclusivity. This is a truly unique experience as you will be entirely on your own in this basilica which is often crowded thanks to LivTours’ exclusive collaboration.
Your semi-private tour ends with a luxury chauffeured ride back to the starting point of the tour.