Jewish Catacombs

Visiting Jewish Catacombs in Rome

The ICS is proud to be the only United States organization to facilitate tours of Rome's Jewish catacombs by providing extensive written and visual documentation of their structure and history (link). For information on how to visit the Jewish catacombs and on the unique partnership between the Union of Italian Jewish communities (UCEI) and the Italian Ministry of Culture for their study and conservation, see our list below. Please note that, at present (2018), the only Jewish catacombs in Rome accessible to the public are those of the Vigna Randanini (the Villa Torlonia catacombs will open for tours in 2019):

Jewish Catacombs of the “Vigna Randanini"
Via Appia Pignatelli, n. 4 (Appia - Rome)
Below private property. Open to the public by arrangement with the Direction of the Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica (link) email: pa-appia@beniculturali.it - Photogallery (link). Overview (in English) of Catacombs' topography and development here (link).

Jewish Catacomb of the “Vigna Cimarra"
Via di San Sebastiano, n. 28 (Appia - Rome)
Below private property.  Click here for a site visit in 2001.

Jewish Catacombs of the Villa Torlonia
Via Nomentana, n. 70 (Nomentana - Rome)
In a public park.  In restoration through 2018; for information on their opening in 2019, contact Dr. Daniela Rossi of the Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma - tel. +39.06-47788415; email: daniela.rossi-02@beniculturali.it (link). Overview (in English) of the Villa Torlonia Catacombs' topography and development here (link).

Jewish Catacombs of Monteverde
Area bordered by the Circonvallazione Gianicolense - via Francesco Massi - via Vincenzo Monti - Rome-Viterbo railway (Portuense - Rome)
Destroyed or inaccessible; for information, contact Dr. Daniela Rossi of the Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma- tel. +39.06-47788415; email daniela.rossi-02@beniculturali.it (link). Press release on a 2013 study and video.

Jewish Catacombs on the Via Labicana
Via Casilina, opposite “La Certosa” (Casilina - Rome).
Destroyed or inaccessible. 

Click here for free study guides to the Jewish Catacombs and here for Bibliography on the Jewish Catacombs and Jews in Ancient Rome.

To visit the Jewish catacombs and other archaeological sites in Rome administered by the Italian State but not ordinarily open to the public, authorization must be obtained directly from:

Soprintendenza Speciale Colosseo, Museo Nazionale Romano, area archeologica di Roma (SSCOL)
Piazza dei Cinquecento, 67 - 00185 Rome tel. +1/39/0647788415 - fax 06/48903504
http://soprintendenzaspecialeroma.beniculturali.it/.
email: ss-abap-rm@beniculturali.it.

For information regarding legal jurisdiction over Jewish sites in Italy (L. 8 marzo 1989, n. 101, art. 17: "Norme per la regolazione dei rapporti tra lo Stato e l'Unione delle Comunità ebraiche italiane: Beni culturali e ambientali"), contact the non-profit Fondazione per i Beni Culturali ebraici in Italia(Foundation for Jewish Cultural Monuments and Art in Italy):

Fondazione per i Beni Culturali ebraici in Italia ONLUS
Lungotevere Raffaello Sanzio 9, Rome - Tel. 340.7368280
http://www.beniculturaliebraici.it; fondazione@ucei.it.

Note: Jewish catacombs and individual burial chambers have been identified in other Italian regions south of Rome, including Venosa (PZ), Naples, Bari, Sicily, and Sardinia.  Contact information for visiting these sites is here.

The Jewish Community of Rome's Culture Department also promotes the preservation and study of the city's Jewish sites:

Comunità Ebraica di Roma (C.E.R.), Dipartimento di Cultura Ebraica
Lungotevere De’ Cenci – 00186 Rome - Tel. +39 06 68400628 – Fax: +39 0668400684
http://www.romaebraica.it/dipartimento-di-cultura-ebraica/
dibac@romaebraica.it.

The C.E.R.'s Cultural Department collaborates with the cultural association, "Le Cinque Scole" to facilitate tours to Jewish historic sites in Rome:
Associazione Culturale Le Cinque Scole - Viale Giotto 25, 00153 Rome - Tel. +39.348.1224039 - http://www.jewishromecinquescole.com/w/ - E-mail: infocinquescole@gmail.com or procinquescole@gmail.com.

Cultural organizations and tour companies that arrange visits to Jewish catacombs in Rome

General assistance with visiting Jewish sites in Rome: Jewish Community of Rome Information Center (JewishInfoPoint), via Santa Maria del Pianto, 1, 00186, Rome; http://www.romaebraica.it; info@romaebraica.it: tel. 3288976222.

Individuals and groups visiting Rome may also contact one of the authorized non-profit organizations, tour companies, and private guides listed below to schedule a private tour of the Jewish catacombs.  Public, state-sponsored tours are held on occasion, and announced on ICS social media (blog,Facebook, Twitter, Google+).

Tour organizers: Please contact info@catacombsociety.org if you would like to be added to this list (multi-lingual guides are preferred).