Christian Rome Private Tour

Tour Description

St Cecilia in Repose in Catacombs

We will begin our tour of Christian Rome with a visit to the Catacombs on Via Appia, which were early Christian cemeteries. Burials were not allowed in the city, so people had to bury the dead outside the city in underground tunnels or catacombs. The early Christians also held services in the catacombs during times of heavy persecution. The Catacombs of San Callisto is where St. Cecilia was first entombed. (see our article on St. Cecilia here)

Next we will visit the Basilica of St. Paul. This basilica was erected as a memorial after the Apostle Paul’s execution. Since its original face, there have been many additions and updating done to the church by different people since Emperor Constantine I first built it.

After visiting the church, we will rest and enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then continue to the Cathedral of Rome, also known as the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran is where the official seat of the Bishop of Rome is located. This is the oldest of the four Papal Basilicas in Rome. Roman Catholics consider it the mother church of the whole inhabited world. The Scala Sancta or "Holy Stairs" are wooden steps encased with white marble that once led to the house of Pilate at Jerusalem according to Roman Catholic tradition.

Santa Maria Maggiore

Our last stop with be at the Basilica of St. Mary Major. The basilica of St. Maria Maggiore is dedicated to the virgin mother Mary. It was fully restored and renovated in the 18th century but was originally founded in the 4th century. Among the many amazing features of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore:

• Contains the Bernini family tombs including Gian Lorenzo Bernini (see our feature of Bernini's "Apollo in pursuit of Daphne"  here)
• Thought to posses splinters of the Holy Crib of Jesus in the Reliquary of the Holy Crib (see picture on left)
• Another relic held by the church are pieces of theTrue Cross, housed in a 14th-century cross-shaped reliquary.