The Ancient Roman Undergrounds

The Ancient Roman Undergrounds

Every corner of Rome is worth a visit … a town inside the town: the Undergrounds!

It’s said that an entire life isn’t enough to get to know the whole of Rome! It may be true: not only the town is full of monuments and museums but underground there is another town. So that modern and historic building often have been built on top of pre-existing Roman ones. Therefore, Rome is literally layered! There are places from where you can look out and literally touch the millenary layering of the town! One example above all is St. Clemente Basilica. Diving in its dungeons – they go down to 14 meters depth – we will see the Roman walls used as the foundation of the religious building. To follow, right in the centre of town next to Trevi fountain the archeological site Vicus Capriarius take us back in the ancient Rome. This completely underground visit ends in a very amazing place: Capuchin friars’ crypt in the church of St. Mary Conception. Here the friars have left their imagination free and built a number of rooms – the convent cemetery itself in reality – where all the decorations (lamps, doorjambs, vaults and frames) are made with the Human’s bones! The bones of nearly 4000 friars dead between 1500th and 1800th centuries!