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The Mamertine Prison is a grim underground cell beside the Roman Forum, used in ancient times to hold enemies of the state before execution.
Christian tradition remembers it as the place where the apostles Peter and Paul were imprisoned during the reign of Nero, before they were put to death.
A small church was later built above it, and a spring in the lower cell is linked by legend to Peter baptizing his guards.
The Mamertine is where the two great apostles are remembered to have spent their last days.
To descend into the cold stone cell is to feel the cost of the faith at its very top, the price Peter and Paul paid to carry the gospel to the heart of the empire. It is a small, sobering place, often the most moving stop in all of Rome.
Who was held there? By tradition, the apostles Peter and Paul.
Where is it? Beside the Roman Forum.
What is above it? A church built over the ancient prison.
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