Secret Rome: Discover the Hidden Underground, Private Tour

Rome, Italy
Duration3h
Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away
TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish, Italian, French, Spanish
Private tourOnly your group will participate

Overview

On this tour, you'll walk underground times, among ruins and columns, enter a thousand-year-old market, and cross an island on Rome's oldest bridge: it'll be a fun experience.
Is it true that every church in Rome is built on the ruins of pagan temples? You'll find out by visiting the city's most famous sites and underground passages. A few steps away, between the Portico of Octavia and the ruins of the Teatro Marcello, you'll cross Rome's oldest bridge, dating back 2,000 years and still standing! And there you are on Tiber Island; then the underground house of Saint Cecilia awaits, with its ancient mosaics, mysterious inscriptions, and richly decorated crypt. The tour continues with a visit to the Basilica Church of San Francesco a Ripa, Rome's first Franciscan church, the place, now a sanctuary, where Saint Francis stayed. The tour ends with a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the first official place of Christian worship in Rome.

Options

Shared Tour Option

Shared Group Tour: Maximum 12 people on the tour
Walking Tour

Private Tour Option

Private Tour Option: includes a private service and the possibility of customizing the tour according to your needs.
Walking Tour

What's included

  • This tour is intended as a walk which enters underground areas and places of worship
  • 3 hours Professional Guide
  • Emergency number also operational via whatsapp
  • Gratuities
  • Tips

What to expect

  1. 15m
    Meeting point tour
  2. Teatro di Marcello
    15m · Admission ticket not included
    The Theater of Marcellus, largely preserved, is the only ancient theater remaining in Rome. Built in the southern area of the Campus Martius known as the Circus Flaminius, between the Tiber river and the Capitoline Hill, it was commissioned by Caesar and continued by Augustus.
    The building was erected in Campo Marzio, in the place that tradition had consecrated to stage performances, where the "Theatrum et proscenium ad Apollinis", connected to the temple of Apollo, was already located.
  3. Isola Tiberina
    30m
    The Tiber Island, the only urban island on the Tiber, approximately 300 meters long and approximately 90 meters wide, is connected to the banks of the Tiber by two bridges: towards Trastevere by the Cestio bridge, dating back to 46 BC. C. and in the direction of the Ghetto with the Fabricio bridge, built in 62 BC. C., also called Quattro Capi bridge, for the Roman herms that decorate its parapets.
    According to legend, the island was born in 509 BC. when, having ousted Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome, the people, as a sign of hatred towards the tyrant, threw the king's enormous grain deposit into the Tiber, which turned out to be so abundant that it formed a small island.
    In reality, a compact bank of tuff, similar to that of the nearby Capitoline Hill, constitutes the basic geological element, on which the sands carried by the current have naturally settled.
  4. The Portico of Octavia
    20m
    The Portico d'Ottavia complex is the only one preserved of the large porticoes that limited, on the northern side, the square of the Circo Flaminio, an area that corresponds to the ancient Ghetto. It was rebuilt by Augustus, in place of the older Portico of Metello, between 27 and 23 BC. and dedicated to her sister Ottavia.

    It was subsequently restored and partially rebuilt in 203 by Septimius Severus, after a fire in 191, a period to which the majority of the currently visible remains belong.

    The complex, a quadriportico of 119 x 132 metres, included the most ancient Temple of Juno Regina, which was then joined by the Temple of Jupiter Stator, the first in Rome entirely made of marble, two libraries, Greek and Latin, and the Curia Octaviae , a large environment for public meetings.
  5. 30m · Admission ticket included
    The Basilica of S. Cecilia in Trastevere is located in the square of the same name and stands on the house of the Roman martyr Cecilia and her husband Valeriano.
    The excavations under the church, carried out during the restoration of 1899, highlighted a group of ancient buildings from the Republican age with walls in opus quadratum of tuff and a Doric column.
    At the bottom of a niche there is a tuff relief representing "Minerva" in front of an altar. The building shows restorations and renovations from a later period, from the 2nd to the 4th century AD, when it was unified with other existing buildings dating back to the Republican age.
    In addition to various rooms built in brickwork and with remains of floor mosaics, there is also a large room characterized by the presence of seven cylindrical brick basins in the floor.
  6. Chiesa di San Francesco a Ripa Grande
    30m · Admission ticket included
    The Church of San Francesco a Ripa is a place of great spirituality in the heart of Rome, in Trastevere. This beautiful Baroque church preserves, in a simple corner, the cell, now a sanctuary, where Saint Francis was welcomed during the Roman days of papal visits.
  7. Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere
    15m · Admission ticket included
    The Basilica was probably the first official place of Christian worship in Rome. According to the legend, it was built by Pope Callistus I in the 3rd century and was finished by Saint Julius I in 340.

    Rebuilt during the pontificate of Pope Innocent II, it later had decorations and restorations including those promoted by Pope Clement XI (1702) and by Pope Pius IX (1870), without the church suffering substantial alterations.

    Many parts of the church date back to the 12th century; the mosaics, especially those of the façade and those of the apse made by Pietro Cavallini and depicting the "Life of the Virgin", are important. On the outside, built in the 12th century, stands the bell tower with its square base.

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point
End point

In the city center

Additional information

  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • 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.
  • 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 meeting time point

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
From
€168.00 per person
Check availability & book
  • Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts
  • Instant confirmation
  • You'll choose your date and travelers and pay on viator.com. Prices vary by date, group size and option.
More activities in Rome
From
€168.00 per person
Check availability