Appian way catacombs and Quintili villa 

Appian way catacombs and Quintili villa is a tour that ranges between the pagan and the Christian, from the suburban villa of the Quintili, members of a senatorial family and consuls in 151 A.D. to a visit through the beautiful Christian catacomb along the famous queen of all roads, The Ancient Appian Way. 

Accompanied by an expert guide who will show you the imposing architecture, the opulence of the sculptural decorations and the elegance of the wall and floor coverings in coloured marble slabs area of the villas. 

The guide will explain you the importance of the ancient Appian Way .Then you will visit a  catacomb. In the catacomb, the history, the cubiculae, the structure of the tombs, the frescoes and the reliefs with early Christian symbols are wonderfu.  It will be a one-of-a-kind experience to have at least once in a lifetime.

The fresco that you will see into the catacomb are also important because all private houses, public building, christian basilicas, pagan hypogea and cubical shared a common form of decoration, which might vary according to the form of the building and the particularly wishes and patron.

Under the streets of Rome we have more than one hundred kilometers of narrows corridor, where in the past, thousands of people were buried. Here along the galleries, is possible to understand the changing christians did concerning the burial place of their death.

While  Romans and Pagans normally burned corps and placed their ashes inside particular vases named urns, the Christians changed this traditions.

The Romans used to do that for hygienic reason and to avoid epidemics, while the Christians decided to bury the body of their death inside tombs along the principal streets leading into the city. 

Being buried along the principal street, whoever was traveling to Rome, passed through the tomb sometimes beautiful and monumental, so that the living could remember the death. At the beginning, around first century AD, Christians were buried in pagan cemeteries too, starting from the second century they begun to bury in the catacombs. 

Over time the Christian cemeteries needed more space and they well decided to dig underground. They reached a depth of twenty meters which would be as a six floor building.

It’s incredible to think that even today is still possible to walk inside it.

Originally, it was believed that Christians used them also as a refuge and meeting place during persecutions but over the time this theory was left aside. 

The lands adapted as catacombs were donated by rich Christians and were located outside the Aurelian walls.

They dug into the tufo because is a soft rock simply to dig and that cannot scramble. It was easier for them to dig deep into the earth. 

At this point let’s start our journey and descend with us under the dark part of the city of Rome.

In case you want to visit a pagan necropoli you can join our Ancient Ostia tour.s