“City of the Dead” Opens at the Vatican Museums

A section of the ancient necropolis beneath the Vatican Museums, which was once reserved only for scholars and researchers, is now open to the public. For the first time ever, visitors will have direct access to this underground “city of the dead” through the monumental Santa Rosa Gate at Piazza Risorgimento. This is also the first time that you’ll be able to visit only the necropolis without needing to combine your visit with Vatican Museums tickets or Vatican Gardens tickets.

What can you see and do at the City of the Dead?

During an exclusive guided tour through the exhibition “Life and Death in the Rome of the Caesars,” you have the chance to explore the site of this burial ground in use since ancient Roman times and eventually buried under a landslide, which explains why it is now underground and how it has been kept so well preserved through the centuries. Although most of the tombs belong to the lower and middle classes, you will still find detailed mosaics, statues, bas-reliefs, frescoes, and inscriptions that serve as evidence of the importance of burial rituals at the time, even among those with lesser means. Covering an area over 1,000 square meters, you can choose to visit the necropolis on a self-guided tour to learn about the history of Roman burial grounds and appreciate the hundreds of artifacts on display at your own pace.

Currently, you can only book this tour through the Vatican Museums Official Website, which offers visits to the necropolis on Fridays and Saturdays.