Vatican Grotto, Underground mausoleum in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
The Vatican Grottoes extend three meters below St. Peter's Basilica floor, containing a network of chambers, chapels, and burial vaults across multiple corridors.
Construction of the grottoes started in 1590 under architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, creating support for the Renaissance basilica while preserving earlier structures.
The underground chambers house the tombs of 91 popes, including significant religious figures and European royalty such as Queen Christina of Sweden.
Visitors enter through St. Peter's Basilica and follow marked pathways to explore the burial sites, chapels, and archaeological remains beneath the church.
The central area contains the Clementine Chapel with a seventeenth-century altar positioned near St. Peter's tomb, marked by a white marble covering.
Location: Vatican City
Part of: Saint Peter's Basilica
GPS coordinates: 41.90222,12.45333
Latest update: September 23, 2025 14:19
Saint Peter's Basilica
7 m
Sistine Chapel
122 m
The Creation of Adam
93 m
Sistine Chapel ceiling
93 m
Pietà
104 m
The Last Judgment
96 m
Saint Peter's tomb
4 m
St. Peter's Dome
23 m
St. Peter's Baldachin
4 m
Vatican Necropolis
9 m
Chair of Saint Peter
4 m
Mater Ecclesiae Monastery
252 m
Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
131 m
Campo Santo Teutonico
131 m
Cappella Paolina
123 m
Tomb of the Julii
0 m
Sala Regia
131 m
Tomb of Pope Alexander VII
4 m
Vatican Christmas Tree
140 m
St Stephen of the Abyssinians
104 m
Organo della basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano
4 m
Sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica
108 m
Vatican Necropolis
80 m
Fontana del Sacramento
136 m
Tomb of Leo XI
0 m
Tomb of Pius VII
64 m
Equestrian statue of Charlemagne
142 mReviews
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