And we're nearing the end of the Italy posts. We had said goodbye to Sue and J the previous evening (with a few rounds of Set and a couple of games of 500). It was now our last day in Rome. We had decided to venture outside the city walls and head to the Catacombs. We certainly picked the right day to head underground. The weather was dreadful. Our last remaining hours in Rome and it was cold and wet.

We had originally decided to visit the Catacombs of San Callisto. However, on our way there we had to quickly change our plans when we discovered they were closed. (We must really learn how to read a guidebook properly.) Luckily, we were able to visit the Catacombs of San Sebastiano instead.

I'm morbidly fascinated with catacombs. I'd imagined exploring musty, dark, underground tunnels filled with skulls and bones, hearing the scurrying patter of rats. I might have been holding a flaming torch in my vision too. My mind had obviously been heavily influenced by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

My mental picture wasn't quite accurate. There were tunnels, but they weren't filled skulls or bones. (Respect for the dead and all that *G*). Didn't hear any rats either. But, I wasn't disappointed at all. Our visit to the catacombs was fascinating and very interesting.

Highlights:

• We've visited another word origin. The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are the origin of the word catacomb, meaning underground cemetery. The word catacomb, derived from Greek, actually described the terrain around San Sebastiano. Our guide told us that it meant "near the cave" (there is a quarry nearby) and it was used as an location identifier for these particular burial grounds. Over time it has come to mean any underground burial ground.
  
  
• The catacombs are the original burial place of St Peter and St Paul. The St Peter and St Paul from the New Testament. These kind of details really put it into perspective the lengthy history of a city like Rome. It's easy to say something is 2,000 years old but what does that really mean? To learn that St Peter and St Paul were buried there makes me think "wow! That's old!"
  
  
• More Roman graffiti. This time from visitors on religious pilgrimages. They would scrawl the names of St Peter and St Paul on the walls as a form of prayer.
  
  
• In the basilica above the catacombs, you can see evidence of fossils in the marble floor.