The Necropolis of the Vatican

I was in Rome for a mere two nights after the visit to Assisi. At the top of my list was to visit a special part of the Vatican most tourists don’t get to see – the Scavi. This was my second time to visit the underworld of St Peter’s.

The Vatican Necropolis, or Scavi, is located directly beneath the immense St. Peter’s Basilica and contains everything from the Papal tombs to Roman cities of the dead. I first heard of the Scavi from a friend who visited Rome and knew right away that I had to find a way to visit. The second visit was even more inspiring due to the wonderful tour guide, who was not an employee of the Vatican but rather a contract worker.

The Vatican being the Vatican of course, did not make organizing the visit an easy process. Akin to what requesting anything from a Soviet-era bureaucrat must have been like, the Vatican has set up a very strict protocol that must be followed to the letter.

In order to participate in a Scavi Tour you must:

• Contact the Excavations Office directly via email. ONLY the actual people going on the tour are to request a tour.
• You must give the names of participants, language desired, range of dates, etc.
• At some point prior to your visit, the Office will contact you letting you know whether or not you made it. If you made it, you will be given the exact time and date of the tour and you must pay for the 12 Euros immediately.
• They have to see each person to make sure you are dressed properly: Women and men no shorts or sleeveless shirts.

Only 250 visitors a day are allowed to participate.

Regardless of the odd ticket procurement process, participation is an absolute must for any visitor to the Vatican.

The guide led us into the basement of the Basilica and opened one of the doors that said “No Public Access.“ Cool. We walked down a staircase, past an oddly modern electronic glass sliding door and suddenly we were there. In the Vatican Necropolis. It was one of those travel moments that at the time you realize just how privileged you are to be in that particular place at that particular time.

For some reason at both underground sites we visited today (other being St Clemente Church) I became very light headed and felt like I was going to faint- Maybe nerves, maybe hungry, maybe overwhelmed.

The entire tour was an hour and a half, but it seemed like ten minutes. We wandered through all of the various levels of excavation, navigated uneven ground previously trod upon by Roman nobles. Included in the tour is an entire Roman city street and necropolis complex. It was incredible to peer through doorways and imagine the city two thousand years earlier.

Finally, our stroll in the musty, humid, wet scavi, walking past long defunct fountains and buildings, ended at what the Vatican believes to be the tomb of St. Peter. The discovery of the Saint’s remains was an effort by an earlier Pope to be buried as close to the Father of the Church as possible. The tour guide gives the group a few moments of reflection before formally ending the tour.

After the tour, you emerge from the darkness into the middle of the Papal tombs and throngs of tourists. The effect is a little discombobulating at first, but in reflection is the perfect end point for the remarkable tour.

The archeological wonders and veritable time capsule that is the Scavi is well worth the time and effort needed to visit this often over-looked area of the Vatican. Thumbs up!