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Beneath Rome run miles of narrow underground passages cut into soft volcanic rock, lined with tens of thousands of tombs.
From the second century, Christians buried their dead here, and gathered to pray at the graves of the martyrs. The best known are the catacombs of Saint Callixtus, Saint Sebastian and Domitilla along the Appian Way.
Their walls carry some of the earliest Christian art, the fish, the Good Shepherd and the anchor.
The catacombs are where the faith went underground to survive. Here the early church laid its martyrs to rest and whispered its hope of resurrection in the dark.
To walk them is to meet the courage of the first Christians, who held to Christ when it cost them everything. The simple painted symbols on the walls are the church's first language of faith, drawn by people who believed in the life to come.
What are the catacombs? Underground Christian burial galleries beneath Rome.
Where are they? Mostly along the Appian Way outside the old city.
What can you see? Early Christian art and the tombs of the martyrs.
Holy Sites
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