Nowadays the American celebration of Halloween is increasingly becoming popular in Italy, but here the “Day of Death” is celebrated on the 1^st of November.

In Italy there are different ways to celebrate this day: for the most religious visitors, a tour in the catacombs of some of the major Italian saints could be a great idea. The Catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples and those of Santa Priscilla in Rome have accessible tours for all guests with special prices.
The Catacombs of San Gennaro, in Naples, offer different guided tours every day (except for the 25^th of December), in the wonderful underground world that is hidden under the city of Naples. A normal ticket costs 15 euros but, for disabled people, tickets are free and there is also a disabled access in Vicoletto San Gennaro dei Poveri, 22, by San Gennaro hospital, as these catacombs are an architectural barrier-free site. In addition, the Catacombs are provided with a lift that links the street of the San Gennaro hospital with the Catacombs: in this way, disabled visitors will have the opportunity to go 20 meters down and visit the tomb of the Naples’ patron and other historical monuments dating back to the Greek Neapolis. In the so called “layered city”, you can travel in time visiting all the tombs around the Basilica of Sant’Agrippino and the majestic basilica adjecta, an underground basilica with all the buried bishops of the Italian city.

If you are more likely to spend Halloween in the Italy’s capital, Rome, than you should have a look at the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla. There, you can find guided tours of a maximum of 45 minutes, that are completely free for disabled and chaperones. The accessibility in the catacombs is guaranteed, but there are some specific limitations for disabled visitors because of the specific nature of the sites, especially since the catacombs are divided in two plants. This important Italian religious destination located in Via Salaria, takes its name from a noblewoman named Priscilla related to the Acili senatorial family and moreover, according to some archeologists, there are some secrets hidden among the frescoes depicted on the walls, like for example the figure of a woman that is believed to be a priest. In particular, the Italian journalist Amanda Ruggeri investigated to discover something more about the “ghosts who haunted the crypt”. Here in this article, you can read more about her discoveries: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150224-the-secrets-of-the-catacombs.
So, if you want to celebrate Halloween in an original way in Italy, don’t miss these tours through the tombs of the most important Italian figures. Of course, you can also enjoy Halloween in Italy taking part to dress-up parties, doing “trick or treat” or decorating pumpkins as you want. Come in Italy and plan your Halloween with us!

written by #stefanosghinolfi