Vatican Necropolis (Scavi) Tour: How to Visit St. Peter's Tomb

The experience most Vatican visitors never know about

Beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, two storeys below the marble floor where tourists photograph the baldachin, lies a 1st-century Roman cemetery. Not a reconstruction. Not a museum display. An actual necropolis that was buried when Constantine built the original basilica in the 4th century, sealed for 1,600 years, and excavated between 1940 and 1949 after Pope Pius XII ordered archaeologists to investigate what lay beneath the papal altar.

What they found was extraordinary: a street of Roman tombs, some pagan, some early Christian, leading to a site that matched ancient written accounts of where Peter the Apostle was buried after his execution in Nero’s Circus around 64 AD. Whether you believe the identification is historically definitive or a matter of faith, standing in that space is unlike anything else at the Vatican. The air is cool and humid. The ceiling is low. The tombs are intact. You are walking through a Roman street that predates Christianity’s rise to power, directly beneath the largest church in Christendom. The irony and continuity are overwhelming.

This is the Scavi tour, and it is the most exclusive experience the Vatican offers.

How to book (and why you must plan months ahead)

The Scavi tour is not bookable through the normal Vatican Museums ticket system. There is no online portal, no Viator listing, no skip-the-line option. The only way to book is by email:

Email: scavi@fsp.va

Include: Your preferred dates (give a range of at least a week), the number of visitors, preferred language (English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, or Portuguese), and full names of all participants.

When to email: 3-6 months before your visit. Earlier is better. The Ufficio Scavi processes requests in order received and slots fill quickly, especially for English-language tours in peak season.

Cost: EUR13 per person.

Group size: Maximum 12 people per tour, roughly 250 visitors per day total.

Response time: Variable. Some people hear back within a week; others wait a month. If you haven’t heard after 3 weeks, send a polite follow-up. The office is small and processes a high volume of requests.

Restrictions: Children under 15 are not permitted. The necropolis is not wheelchair accessible. The underground passages are narrow, humid, and low-ceilinged.

What you actually see underground

The tour lasts approximately 90 minutes and takes you through the excavated necropolis beneath the basilica. Your guide is typically a Vatican archaeologist or trained specialist, not a tourism guide. The depth of knowledge is remarkable.

The necropolis is a street of brick-faced tomb chambers dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. Some are pagan - decorated with mosaics of Dionysus, Apollo, and Egyptian deities. Others show the transition to early Christianity, with symbols of Christ appearing alongside traditional Roman funerary art. The juxtaposition is historically fascinating: you are watching a civilisation change its beliefs in real time, preserved in the walls of their burial chambers.

The tour progresses toward the area directly beneath the papal altar, where a simple shrine, known as the Trophy of Gaius (a 2nd-century writer who mentioned Peter’s memorial), marks the site identified as Peter’s burial place. Bone fragments found nearby were examined and controversially authenticated as potentially belonging to a man matching Peter’s described age and build. The Vatican considers them the relics of St. Peter. Scholars debate the identification. Standing there, the debate feels less important than the fact that people have venerated this spot continuously for nearly two thousand years.

Scavi vs. the Grottoes: what’s the difference?

Visitors often confuse the Scavi tour with the Vatican Grottoes. They are different experiences at different depths:

The Grottoes are one level below the basilica floor. Free entry via a staircase inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Open to all. Contains medieval and modern papal tombs (including John Paul II and Benedict XV), fragments of the original 4th-century basilica, and chapels where Masses are still celebrated. Allow 20-30 minutes. No booking needed.

The Scavi are deeper - at the original 1st-century ground level. Accessible only by guided tour booked months ahead via email. Contains the Roman necropolis and the site identified as St. Peter’s tomb. EUR13. Children under 15 not permitted.

If you only have time for one, and you can book the Scavi, choose the Scavi. The Grottoes are historically interesting but the necropolis is genuinely unique - there is nothing else like it in Rome.

How the Scavi fits into a Vatican day

The Scavi office is located near St. Peter’s Square, and tours typically begin from there. The tour itself runs roughly 90 minutes. It is a standalone experience, not connected to the museums or basilica visit.

Recommended schedule: Scavi tour in the morning (if you can get an early slot), then St. Peter’s Basilica and the dome climb immediately after. Save the Vatican Museums for a separate day if possible - cramming the Scavi, basilica, and museums into a single day is physically exhausting and emotionally overwhelming.

If you must do everything in one day, the Scavi works as a morning standalone followed by the one-day itinerary starting with a late-morning museum entry.