Capuchin Crypt

Start your visit at the Capuchin Museums to learn about the place's culture and spirituality. Continue towards the Crypt of the Three Skeletons, the only area where the human skeleton can be seen in its unadorned entirety. Next, visit the Crypt of the Leg Bones and Thigh Bones. Admire the Crypt of Pelvises, which contains 2 Capuchins serenely reclining in an arched position. Look at the crosses on the ground, which marks the graves of the 7 Capuchins. Stroll through the Crypt of the Skulls and check out its famous hourglass. Learn about how, when the Capuchins left their old friary near the Trevi Fountain, they decided to transfer the bones of friars who had been buried under the Church of Saint Bonaventure. In accordance with Capuchin law, which did not allow burials to take place within the churches, an underground cemetery was designed. Here, they deposited the bones brought from the old friary. Since then, the crypt has been the burial place of the Capuchins.

Follow an expert English-speaking guide through the Museum and Crypt of the Capuchin Friars, located under the 17th-century church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in the historic heart of Rome. Discover macabre masterpieces of art from the Middle Ages in the bone crypts, where your licensed guide will take you on a journey through the 500-year history of the Capuchin monks. Hear how – and why – they led to the creation of one of the darkest museums in the world. Stop to take a closer look at a different artifacts that hold secrets about life in the Eternal City in the Middle Ages. Be amazed by the different bone crypts that serve as a silent reminder of the swift passage of life on Earth. 

Take a walk on the creepy side with this fascinating tour of Rome’s spookiest places. Together with an experienced guide, you’ll unearth some of the Eternal City’s darkest secrets, discover the ghost stories of landmarks such as the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Castel Sant’Angelo, and come face to face with the skeletal remains of some of Rome’s previous residents at the Capuchin Crypt. This walking tour is an intriguing dive into Rome’s long and twisted history. Visit the Capuchin Crypt and descend deep underground to see a side of Rome that you’ve never seen before. The tour continues above ground with a walk through Rome’s cobbled streets to reach the Pantheon where demons were said to roam free, looking for innocent souls to tempt. See the Piazza Navona a beautiful Baroque square known for its stunning architecture and dazzling fountains, as well as the ghosts that haunt the palaces facing the square.

Your incredible tour begins at the the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks on Via Veneto, where you will meet your professional expert guide and join your exclusively small group of 6 people maximum. This historical crypt holds the bones of over 4,000 deceased Capuchin monks, which have been decoratively laid out creating an eerie atmosphere which is sure to leave you impressed. As your tour of the Capuchin Crypt ends and night begins to fall, your guide will escort you to a private chauffeured car where you will be taken to ancient catacombs for the next part of your tour. Your chauffeur will drop you off at the incredible Basilica of Saint Agnes outside the walls, which was built in honor and protection of the remains of Saint Agnes, a young Christian martyr executed under the reign of Diocletian. Here you will have the chance to visit the beautiful interior of the Basilica, and can descend into the impressive catacombs through exclusive access granted only to your guide's groups. A Saint Agnes affiliated and certified guide will here take you and other groups through the underground hallways lined by hundreds of tombs. Once above ground again, you will continue your visit with your exclusively small group of only 6 people. Your next stop will be just behind the Basilica di Saint Agnes in the Mausoleo di Costanza. This basilica is part of a larger, prominent palaeo-Christian funerary complex which is also home to a mausoleum dedicated to Costanza, Emperor Constantine’s daughter. The access to these incredible catacombs and funerary complex is privileged and exclusively granted to your guide's company's groups. This is sure to be an off-the-beaten-path, beautiful, and inspiring adventure which you will surely not soon forget. Once your tour has ended, you will hop back in your comfortable car before being taken back to the city center.

Tour Rome's underground burial chambers and crypts to discover a history that predates Christianity, and post-dates the Renaissance. This 1-hour tour takes you back to a time when Christianity was considered a cult and its members were executed as heretics and buried as martyrs. You will see hundreds of burial chambers, from modest single sites to extravagant family tombs, in the long corridors of the underground city. First, visit the Capuchin Crypt and Museum for an encounter with Caravaggio’s magnificent “St. Francis in Meditation” canvas, along with masterpieces by Domenichino and Reni. See relics from the life of St. Francis and some of his followers. The Crypt is decorated with the bones of 4,000 Capuchin monks, including a real skull and crossbones and chandeliers made of human vertebrae. Then, attend a choral concert by the renowned Schola Romana Ensemble inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Immacolata. The program is rare and valuable, and alternates the archaic mysticism of Gregorian Chants - the most ancient form of Occidental music - with the best polyphony compositions by the Roman School, including masterworks by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

Enter the Church of Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, and get an introduction to the history of the church and the Capuchin monks. Admire masterpieces by Reni and Muziano and see hundreds of portraits of the monks. The deeper you go, the darker the atmosphere gets. In the crypt, see the bones of 4,000 friars that cover the walls, floors, and ceiling arches. Discover the history of this fascinating location and learn how it came to be full of so many corpses. Hear about the Capuchin Cardinal Antonio Barberini, and why he ordered the remains of thousands of Capuchin friars to be exhumed and transferred here.  Look inside the 5 subterranean chapels and marvel at a macabre work of art of intact skeletons draped with Franciscan habits and bones arranged in elaborate designs. Discover the ghoulish sign that reads, "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be."