The San panfilo Catacomb is located along the Via Salaria Vecchia in Rome, to be more precise underneath the present Via Paisello and the Via Spontini. The present entrance of this catacomb is inside the Santa Teresa di Bambin Gesù in Panfilo Church. It is normally not open to tourists.
San Panfilo Catacomb Rome
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Via Paisiello, 24 – Rome (tel. +39 06 735824) District: Quartiere Pinciano. Bus: 910. Opening hours: Like many smaller an dless well-known catacombs the San Panfilo Catacombs can only be visited with permission of the Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra.
History and description
The presence of many so-called “a capuccina” tombs (that resemble the roof of a house, with rows of slanted tiles) indicate that people were buried here as early as the 3rd century. This impression is supported by some of the inscriptions found in the catacombs, one of which is dated 298 AD.
The oldest level of these catacombs, which was reached by means of a long staircase, was created with the so-called “a pettine” system. A higher level was added in the 4th century to be followed by a third floor.
This last floor consists of a hallway, beginning neat the staircase. This hallway is more disorderly than the other two levels.
There is a cubicolo doppio (double cubicolo) in the oldest one of the hallways, which had apparently necessitated the destruction of a number of already existing loculi. These extensively decorated spaces had been built by two freed slaves and dedicated to their former masters, Teofilo and Ponziana.
Panfilo’s relics are supposed to be kept in this cubicolo doppio. According to the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, a 7th century list containing all martyrs, Saint Quirino and Saint Candido are also supposed to be buried in these catacombs, but no remains have been found yet to support this.
Panfilo’s catacombs can only be visited after writing to the Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra.