The Catacombs of Rome · Hundreds of Kilometres Beneath the City

Beneath Rome lie dozens of catacombs, their passages running several hundred kilometres in total; early Christians cut tier upon tier of burial niches into the rock and laid their dead inside.

Underground the temperature holds at fifteen degrees year-round and the air is dry, and the wall paintings and inscriptions are still there: fish, shepherds, and the names written by families.

The guided route opens only a short section. The friars who keep the place say the rest is not impossible to walk — it is only that no one can guarantee coming back.

Historical Mysteries / Rome · Italy / 2nd century