The Catacombs of St Callixtus

The Catacombs of St Callixtus are located just outside Rome on the Appian Way.  These ancient Jewish and Christian underground burial places were used for burials in the second century AD. The first large-scale catacombs were excavated from the 2nd century onwards. It is believed that the catacombs served as a hiding place for the Christian populations during the persecution.

So far, 40 subterranean burial chambers are known in Rome, built along roads such as the Via Appia, the Via Ostiense, the Via Labicana, the Via Tiburtina, and the Via Nomentana. In the 3th century,  the catacombs served as burial place for 16 popes. Their names is burrowed from St. Callixtus, the deacon hired to run the catacombs by Pope St. Zephyrinus, elected pope (A.D. 217-22) in his own right. In 1956 and 1959 Italian authorities found more catacombs near Rome.

The catacombs are nearly 19km long, structured in five levels and reaching a depth of about 20m  and host about half a million tombs of early Christians. Currently, they are maintained by the Papacy, which has invested the  Salesians of Don Bosco the supervision of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus on the outskirts of Rome. Paintings, sculptures, and epigraphs can be found there and some of the  original marble tablets are still preserved today. The sight is open Thu-Tue 8:30am-noon, 2:30pm-5pm (5:30pm in the summer).