Catania Underground Tour: Roman Baths, Crypts & Hidden Rivers

4.86

(297 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the echo of our footsteps as we slipped down the stone steps beneath Piazza Duomo. It’s strange — you’re in the middle of Catania, all sunlight and scooters above, but suddenly it’s cool and shadowy. Our guide, Marco, flicked on a torch and pointed out fragments of mosaic clinging to the old Roman walls. The air smelled faintly damp, like old earth and something metallic. I kept brushing my hand along the rough rock — apparently these were once bathhouse walls where people gossiped centuries ago. Kind of wild to imagine.

We wandered between pillars that looked half-swallowed by time, Marco telling us stories about eruptions and earthquakes that kept changing Catania’s shape. He had this way of shrugging when he talked about Etna — like the volcano is just another neighbor who sometimes gets moody. At one point we paused above a trickle of water: “That’s the Amenano,” he said quietly. It used to be a river on the surface until lava covered it up. I crouched down to listen — there was this soft rushing sound, almost hidden under city noise from above.

Later we ducked into a cave where the light went gold against old frescoes scratched into the stone. The place felt sacred in a way I can’t really explain; maybe it was just how everyone fell silent for a minute. Marco told us about Saint Agatha and how her story still matters here — people leave little flowers or candles even now. I tried reading some faded Latin but gave up halfway through (my high school teacher would’ve laughed). Soda was waiting for us back outside, which tasted oddly sweet after all that dust and history.