Christian Rome and Underground: Half Day Semi-Private Tour

Rome, Italy

3 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Immerse yourself in Rome’s Christian history on this small-group tour of its most significant basilicas. Wander through the Basilica of San Clemente, explore the ancient Santi Quattro Coronati, and admire the grandeur of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Gain a deeper understanding of these sacred sites with commentary from your guide and enjoy the scenic city stroll between each landmark.

Enjoy a guided experience in an intimate small-group setting
Skip the wait with fast-track entry to the Basilica of San Clemente
Descend underground to explore the sites up close
Follow dress code guidelines to access these sacred sites

What's Included

3 hours Professional guide
Entrance ticket to the Basilica of San Clemente
Headphones (from 9 people)

tips
Pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Laterano Caffè
P.za di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 52, 00185 Roma RM, Italy

End point

Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli
Piazza di San Pietro in Vincoli, 4/A, 00184 Roma RM, Italy

Operating hours
.2:30 pm

Itinerary

Laterano Caffè

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Ss. Quattro Coronati

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Basilica of San Clemente

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

San Pietro in Vincoli

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour is intended as a walk which enters underground areas and places of worship: Should anyone feel uncomfortable in underground spaces, the guide can deal with it; those people will comfortably sit in the top church, while the rest of the group will visit the underground. It is advisable to wear confortable shoes such as sport trainers and to respect the churches dress code: trousers should touch the knee and shoulders should be covered; tourists may consider bringing a scarf to wear at necessity.
A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women

Provide the Correct address of your accommodation , hotel, B&B
Provide the correct phone number with international country code
check that you provide all the details to the agency
Without this information we can not guarantee the correct service
Emergency number also operational via whatsapp
One day before please call to confirm the pick up
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Reviews

4.1

based on 9 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

So much history and beauty.

Angela_Y, Mar 2024

Fabio was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable and personable. The churches we saw were beautiful and had centuries of history to learn about. All of them played pivotal roles in the history of Christianity.

Not for handicapped

JOSEPH_G, Nov 2022

The driver was 20 minutes late. The driver then drove a UK couple around the city for 45 minutes. We were finally dropped off in a dark parking lot and met by the guide. The tour was supposed to start at the Basilica of Saint John the Lateran instead we both handicapped were supposed to walk the streets of Rome with some guide. In the dark we feared we would be mugged. The guide was kind enough to call a taxi who charged us double the normal rate. If you are handicapped or physically challenged do not use Viator

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Dear customer, we are sorry for the inconvenience but you have not provided the indications of your handicap. this is necessary to organize a tour for people with disabilities. the driver is not responsible for the traffic he may find on the route. Not informing the organization of your problem is your responsibility and not the fault of the operator or Viator. in the indications we have indicated that this tour is a walking tour and is carried out on foot. We advise you to read carefully before booking a service and check if they have service for the handicapped.

Best tour ever

angellindamimi, Sep 2019

Our tour guide, Mohammed, was amazing! He made the ancient churches come alive. His knowledge and insights made this one of our best and most fascinating tours.ever.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Dear customer , thanks so much for this beautiful words . your feedback is very important to us . happy that you enjoyed our best regards Patricia

A great tour of christian history

Erica_L, Sep 2019

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable & spoke very good English. We had a great tour of 4 churches even though one was closed unexpectedly. Our guide found another church for us to visit in replacement which was very good of her. She allowed us time to ask questions & take photographs. We really enjoyed the church where we were able to go down to excavated levels to see former churches. i would highly recoomend this tour.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Dear customer , thanks so much for this beautiful words . your feedback is very important to us . happy that you enjoyed our best regards Patricia

The tour was good and really...

Wen Qian C, Jun 2017

The tour was good and really informative. However we felt that the experience was marred as our guide appeared 45mins late.

My mom and I had a wonderful...

Louis C, Apr 2017

My mom and I had a wonderful three-hour walking tour on a Monday afternoon in late March lovely time to visit Rome, beautiful weather and a little less crowded. This was our third visit to Rome so we wanted to see a few places outside the typical tourist circuit in addition to returning to some old favorites, of course, so this tour of San Giovanni in Laterano the official Church of Rome and seat of the Bishop of Rome, i.e., the Pope, and apparently the oldest basilica, founded by Constantine, San Clemente, and San Pietro in Vincoli St. Peter in Chains fit the bill perfectly. I love that this tour included hotel pick up and return, and our driver was amazing, getting us from our hotel just north of the Spanish Steps to San Giovanni south of the Colosseum as quickly as possible in spite of jammed city center streets due to the arrival of a visiting African head of state's motorcade! Our guide Maria was waiting for us outside San Giovanni, where we began a lovely three hour tour. Maria is a very warm and sweet person, low key yet engaging, and an extremely knowledgeable guide. My mom and I already knew a lot about Roman history and architecture yet she gave us lots of knew and fascinating information, sharing lots of anecdotes about the religious and artistic history of what we were seeing. San Giovanni is enormous and extremely impressive, almost overwhelming in its size and artistic content, and not at all crowded: highly recommend it if you can get out there. Maria then took us across the street to visit the famous Holy Staircase reportedly walked on by Jesus as he entered Pontius Pilate's palace in Jerusalem, at the top of which you can see the Holy of Holies, the medieval popes' private chapel and the only remaining portion of the original Lateran Palace, home of the popes prior to their move to Avignon and then the Vatican. Striking to see the faithful still ascending the Holy Stairs on their knees. Afterwards we walked around the side of San Giovanni's through a square with the largest and oldest of Rome's many Egyptian obelisks and visited the cathedral's baptistery, dating from the early Middle Ages and a real gem. Again, very few other tourists, and loaded with fascinating history. We then walked to the nearby church of San Clemente, a fascinating lasagna to borrow Maria's term! of Roman history, with the new 12th century basilica on top of the original 4th or 5th ce. church on top of a 1st century Temple to Mithras and various Roman dwellings and what is thought to be the Roman Mint. An unbelievable experience! Maria guided us deftly through all three levels the two lower ones are dark and there are lots of steps to descend, and then ascend, but my mom, who is a senior citizen, was fine because Maria didn't move us through too quickly. After San Clemente we got some unexpected treats: she walked us by the spot where the Pope Joan of legend supposedly gave birth in a procession and was killed by the witnesses, approached the Colosseum from the south and saw the remains of the main gladiator training center, and ended up at St. Peter's in Chains for a visit to Michelangelo's incredible Moses! Because we were a little late getting to the last stop due to the aforementioned traffic issues, Maria ran up to the guard at San Pietro in Vincoli as he was getting ready to close the gates it closes at 6 pm in winter and persuaded him to let us in for a visit! As in the other sites, Maria offered us many fascinating details about the history and art, and we now finally know the real story behind the horns on the top of Moses' head! When we exited the church our driver was waiting for us in an adjacent parking area, and he whisked us back to our hotel in no time at all this time with no traffic issues!. In short, this tour by the local operator Welcome Italy was even more than we'd hoped it would be and Maria was a delightful tour guide and companion for the final afternoon of our week in Rome. Highly recommended! Grazie mille, Maria!

Muy recomendable

MariaDolores_R, Aug 2024

Severino fue una persona muy amable y un guía muy bien informado y con una gran capacidad para comunicar. La visita se convirtió en un paseo ameno y divertido a pesar del intenso calor. Un millón de gracias, Severino!!!

Excelente!!! nuestra guia fue...

Diana A, Apr 2017

Excelente!!! nuestra guia fue maravillosa, conocia muy bien todos los detalles de los diferentes sitios que conocimos y ya que es una maestra, se tomo el tiempo para explicarle a nuestro hijo de 8 años, de forma muy agradable todo lo que estabamos visitando.