Catania Underground: Roman Catacombs & Hidden River

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/7

Duration2h–3h

GroupUp to 8

LanguagesEN · IT +2

Mobile ticketAccepted

Beneath Catania's Streets: Where Romans Buried Their Dead and Rivers Still Flow

You descend through three layers of Catania's past: a Roman monument beneath the streets, a catacomb where Saint Agatha was first buried with frescoes still carved into the stone, and a hidden river that still flows through a cave under the city center. Entrance fees and refreshment are included; the tour works for all fitness levels and takes you into spaces most visitors never know exist.

2h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Catania's underground sites

Visit the Black Colosseum
Explore ancient lava flow cave
See frescoes in Saint Agatha's crypt
Discover the Amenano underground river

The Experience

There's a river running under Catania that most people walk over without knowing it exists. The Amenano surfaces only in one place now—a small opening in the historic center where water still moves through a cave carved into living rock, the same way it did when Greeks used it as a cistern two thousand years ago. That's where this underground Catania tour takes you: into the spaces the city built on top of, layer by layer, from Roman times through the eighteenth century.

You start at the Black Colosseum, which isn't a ruin you see from above but a structure you enter from below—a Roman monument that sits under the modern streets, waiting to be explored. Then comes the part that stays with you: the ancient lava flow cave that became a catacomb. The Romans used it as a tomb, and according to local tradition, Saint Agatha was first laid to rest here in 262 AD, before a small church was built over the spot. The frescoes and decorations carved directly into the rock are still there, faded but visible, and the air in that space feels different—heavier, older. Your guide walks you through what each mark means, what each chamber was for, how a city that was buried by eruptions and earthquakes kept its history anyway, just underground.

The Amenano is the final stop, and it's the one that makes the whole tour click into place. You descend into a sliding cave where a branch of the river still flows, cold and quiet. The water has been there longer than the streets above it. Earthquakes and wars changed Catania's shape, but the river kept moving. Entrance fees and a cold drink are included, and the walk is manageable for most fitness levels—it's more about standing still and looking than about climbing or speed.

What’s included

Your tour includes entrance fees to the underground sites and a cold drink. You visit the Black Colosseum beneath the modern city, descend into the ancient lava flow cave that served as a Roman catacomb and tomb, and walk through a sliding cave where the Amenano river still flows underground through Catania's historic center.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Etna 'Ngeniousa

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Catania's history without spending hours in above-ground museums—the tour takes you directly into the spaces where Romans lived, buried their dead, and where natural forces shaped the city, all preserved in the rock beneath your feet.