Secrets Beneath Rome: Capuchin Crypt and Catacombs Tour

What a fabulous tour led by Fiona - we loved our afternoon full of information and education. We would definitely recommend Fiona - she is well informed; so willing to share her knowledge of her city, its’ culture and history. So easy to interact with and to understand - a very memorable afternoon!

This was an odd tour. We thought we were early but I got a phone call from an 800 number about 10 minutes before the start time asking me to contact them if I was going to miss the tour. I called them back immediately and got an automated menu that did not respond to touchtones, which seems like a weird hurdle. I then got a text from our guide, and was able to tell her we were just around the corner. We got there 4 minutes late, and it was entirely my fault. Thankfully, the only other people were a nice mother and son from Ohio. Fiona, our guide, was terrific. She really knew her stuff, peppered us with trivia and interesting commentary during the trips in the van, and was very open to questions. She was also quite funny, with a dry Aussie wit, which was much appreciated. The driver was also very friendly, and the van was comfortable. We drove out first to the Catacombs and got an unexpected chance to stand on a bit of the Appian Way. I don't know if this was planned, or a bit of happenstance since we got stuck in traffic behind a huge tour group, but it was pretty neat, and Fiona encouraged our small group to take pictures on it. From there, it was a very short walk to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano. This is where it got weird. Our group of 4 got handed off to a larger group of about 30, consisting of some other private groups and also some people that just showed up on their own. This large group was then led down into the catacombs by a knowledgable if a bit austere German woman who worked for the site as a tour guide. It seemed as if small private tours were not allowed? We were then at the mercy of "big group" dynamics: there were a number of people who had not considered that catacombs might be underground in small, tight, dark spaces, or that there might be steep, narrow stairs to get through the 2,000 year old subterranean excavation site, and our tour had to deal with several panic attacks and winded retirees with bad hips. I can't fully blame them for this, as the spaces were indeed claustrophobic with that many people, and the stairs were indeed quite steep. I don't know what I expected of the Catacombs themselves, but they were pretty underwhelming. We were led down into a narrow, dark passage and warned not to stray off the path. The pitch black openings we didn't go down certainly looked ominous, and like they might go on forever. But if you were hoping to see bones, or mummies, or coffins, or crypts or ANY signs of ancient life or death...you're out of luck. Those are long gone. So basically you just walk through a tunnel carved in the earth with lots of empty cubbies. We paused in a larger space to deal with the first panic attacks. Then we paused shortly after in a well lit marble area for a short speech on relics. This was the restored crypt of St. Sebastian. A third stop after going back into the earth, this time to peek inside 3 mausoleums (which did have some pottery, carvings, and reliefs in them) via a keyhole sized viewpoint. Up some steep steps that gave even our temporary German guide pause, to a bit of a museum display with sketches of what the area might have looked like through the ages. Then we were done. Led up to the basilica but told we couldn't actually sit down there as we normally would because the group ahead of us (apparently hundreds of Slovakian police officers) was too large. What good did that do us? At this point we were reunited with Fiona, and after a little bit of commentary on Saint Sebastian, we were back to the van. So...wtf did I just pay Through Eternity for? There are dozens of catacombs around Rome. They could have picked any of them. This is indeed one of the most famous (but also the most dilapidated because it has been known about for so long). But if I had just made a reservation and taken a taxi out, I would have gotten the same tour from the knowledgable if reserved German lady. It was a bit bewildering. The trip back into Rome was probably the best part of the tour, as Fiona entertained us with commentary as we sat in traffic. We got an off the cuff tour of Roman architecture and politics as we passed by "The Wedding Cake" and various churches and dig sites. We arrived at the Capuchin Crypt museum, which was smack dab in the center of the city, and were handed the single ear piece radios that every tour seems to be fond of now...and they worked about as poorly as the others. Just as our tour was about to start, Fiona was chased down and informed that Through Eternity had not, in fact, made a reservation for our tour, and that it had not been paid for. We were still allowed to proceed (it seemed like she knew everyone by face, if not name, because she did so many tours there) but that was kind of embarrassing. The Capuchin museum is VERY small. Maybe 10 rooms of art and displays, a pit stop for bathrooms and a candy machine, and then 5 rooms of crypt with elaborate bone configurations. It is remarkable, and creepy, and makes you pause. It is also basically a hallway that's less than the length of a tennis court, at the beginning of which you can see the exit to the museum. Also, by the by...NOT BENEATH ROME. In fact it's a level above the street, and the crypts are well lit by natural light through windows in addition to the Tim Burtonesque chandeliers. Now, Fiona definitely knew her stuff. She gave great, entertaining background, and even threw in some dad jokes. All credit to her. But we sailed through the whole museum in maybe 30 minutes, and I don't think we missed much. And then we were done. So: was Fiona great? Yes. I wish she had been our guide on any of our other tours. She was engaging, and funny, and knowledgeable. She is wasted on this gig. Do you need to take this tour? Absolutely not. I have no idea what value Through Eternity adds to the catacomb tour, as you are handed off for the duration. While I'm glad Fiona was there for the Capuchin museum, it's easily accessible to the public and conveniently located (the "van tour" made it sound like we were going to exotic locations), and so small I bet the audio tour that the dozens of other patrons were listening to would have covered all the bases. If you're interested in these two sites, you can absolutely do them on your own and save the money.

We had a great time! I was so glad that we got to go on this tour before going on a bike tour (later in the week) of the Appian Way and also the special Caravaggio exhibit that is happening. We were able to understand the history of the early Christians and how their burial practices differed from the Romans and how the Capuchin monks approached their move from their original location to their current place. Eerily beautiful.

Ilaria was knowledgeable, friendly, and enthusiastic. Her family stories about growing up in Rome helped bring a personal touch to the city.