Catacombs of San Giovanni: Syracuse Underground

The Catacombs of San Giovanni are the Syracuse you don’t expect: beneath the city, close to the Neapolis Archaeological Park, a labyrinth of limestone opens along a main axis, the decumanus maximus, with galleries and round chambers branching off it. They are not a hiding place for the persecuted, but a true early Christian cemetery, used from the 4th to the 5th century AD and linked to the memory of Saint Marcian, the first bishop of Syracuse. Entry is by guided tour only, and the impression is powerful: loculi, arcosolia, inscriptions and frescoes form a kind of illustrated Bible in the half-light. The air is cool and damp, the silence broken only by footsteps. To me it felt like a parallel city, silent, where every niche tells of a family, a bishop, an important woman. It is the largest early Christian cemetery in Sicily. Be ready to go down: here history is not viewed from afar, it is walked through.

The area originated as a Greek latomia (quarry), later a potters’ workshop in the late Hellenistic period. In late imperial times it became a Christian cemetery area: the catacombs date between 315 and 360 AD, after the Peace of the Church, and remained in use until the end of the 5th century. They follow the route of an ancient Greek aqueduct, with cisterns transformed into rotundas. In 310 AD Pope Eusebius, who died in exile in Syracuse, was temporarily buried there. Around the mid-6th century the Crypt of San Marciano was created. Above it, the three-aisled basilica with 12 Doric columns symbolizes the apostles. During the Arab siege of 878, the commander Giafar ibn Muhammad set up his camp here. In 1693 an earthquake damaged the church, which was repaired in 1705-1706. Between 1893 and 1909 Paolo Orsi studied the complex.

• 4th century: early Christian origin.
• 310: temporary burial of Pope Eusebius.
• 6th century: crypt of San Marciano.
• 878: Arab camp.
• 1693: earthquake; 1705-1706: new portico.
• 1893-1909: Paolo Orsi’s campaigns.

The visit follows a loop route below street level. At its heart is the decumanus maximus, carved out of the classical aqueduct: traces of the conduit can still be seen on the vault. From here, five cardines branch off to the north and five to the south, leading to four circular chambers, former cisterns: the Rotonda di Antiochia, Rotonda Marina, Rotonda di Adelphia, and Rotonda dei Sarcofaghi. The walls are filled with loculi, rectangular niches sealed with tiles or slabs, and with arcosolia, arched tombs for families or notable figures. There is a Syracusan peculiarity: some arcosolia could hold up to twenty places. There is no lack of forme, graves cut into the floor. In a secondary gallery I see a tomb with three holes in its slab: it was used for the refrigerium, the funerary banquet with wine, milk, and honey poured for the soul. Walking here makes you dizzy, in a good way.

The Crypt of San Marciano is a three-chambered underground church, used first for burials and later for liturgy. It is reached from the basilica via a medieval staircase. Here the tomb of the first bishop of Syracuse, Marciano, martyred in the 3rd century, is venerated; according to tradition, the apostle Paul preached in the crypt. The altar is surrounded by four columns, and in the Norman period the central space was altered with pillars and capitals decorated with the symbols of the Evangelists. On the walls, frescoes survive with Lucy, Marciano, John the Baptist, the Virgin, apostles and hermits. Just above, the Basilica of St John the Evangelist has two facades, one Norman and one Baroque, and columns reused from a pagan temple. The central rose window is Norman; the portico is Gothic-Catalan. The central nave preserves the atmosphere of the early Byzantine church. Here Caravaggio, during his stay in Syracuse, found inspiration for the Burial of Saint Lucy.

In the Rotonda di Adelphia, in 1872 a marble sarcophagus carved in Rome was found, with 62 biblical figures and two busts of a married couple at its center. It contained the body of Adelphia, wife of the proconsul Valerius; today it is in the Paolo Orsi Regional Museum. The inscription on the lid mentions only her. In the Rotonda Marina, a short corridor preserves a graffito with a monogram and two stylized fish-shaped boats: it marks the tomb of Bishop Siracosius. For early Christians, the boat was the Church in the storm, while the fish is the Ichthys, the Greek acronym for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.’ In the eastern area there is a multi-layered painted arcosolium: above, the deceased woman welcomed by Peter and Paul in a paradisiacal garden, with Christ placing a crown on her; below, an eight-line inscription by her brother Siracosius. Here the symbols are not decoration: they are messages for those who knew how to read.

First reason: it is the largest early Christian cemetery in Sicily, with galleries stretching for hundreds of metres, a regular layout and round halls you wouldn’t expect in a catacomb. Second: it is the only Syracusan catacomb open to the public and fully explored, so you can truly step into history without having to imagine too much of it. Third: the ticket includes a guided tour and a multimedia or virtual reality experience that reconstructs the original spaces, helping you understand how they once looked. What’s more, the complex is linked to Saint Marcian, Pope Eusebius and the cult of Saint Lucy, so it also speaks to those who aren’t archaeologists. Prices, subject to change, are €12 full price plus €2 fee, €9 reduced plus €2 fee, free for under 6s. Wear closed shoes and bring a jacket: it’s cool down there and the floor can be damp.

There’s no need to choose a specific season: the ideal is a day without scorching sun, when it’s muggy outside and cool beneath the rock. The contrast between Syracuse’s blinding light and the damp half-light of the galleries is part of the charm. It’s best to avoid the middle hours of the hottest days, because the route is all downhill and uphill, and the air inside is cooler. If you can, choose a time when there aren’t too many groups: silence makes the inscriptions and frescoes easier to read. The visit is guided and at fixed times, so check availability and booking in advance. In any case, bring a light jacket: the underground temperature is constant and lower than outside. And shoes with grippy soles, because the floor can be damp. That way you can enjoy it without thinking about the heat.

Outside the catacombs, the Neapolis district keeps surprising you. In the same area lies the Neapolis Archaeological Park, with the Greek theatre, the Roman amphitheatre and the Ear of Dionysius: a natural pairing with underground Syracuse. If your curiosity about the finds lingers, the Paolo Orsi Regional Museum houses the sarcophagus of Adelfia and artefacts that help piece together the site’s history. Another idea is to walk to Ortigia, passing through the historic centre, and end the day with the sea and Baroque alleys. If the subject captures you, Syracuse also has the Catacombs of Santa Lucia and those of Vigna Cassia and del Bambin Gesù, but they are not always open in the same way. Better to check in advance. We limited ourselves to the San Giovanni complex, and even so it felt as if we had seen another city.