San Giovanni Evangelista, Early Christian church and catacombs in Syracuse, Italy

San Giovanni Evangelista is an early Christian church in Syracuse, Sicily, with a Norman facade that features a rose window and a carved portal. Inside, three naves are divided by columns, and beneath the floor lie ancient catacombs that were once used as burial chambers.

The church was built in the 6th century over catacombs associated with Saint Marcian, who is said to have been the first bishop of Syracuse. Norman rulers later added new elements to the building, shaping the facade that visitors see today.

The crypt of Saint Marcian is still used for prayer by both Catholic and Orthodox believers, which is rare in Sicily. Both communities gather here in the same space, keeping an old tradition of shared worship alive.

Getting into the underground catacombs requires going down a narrow staircase, so sturdy shoes and a willingness to move through tight spaces are helpful. A guided visit makes it easier to follow the layout, as the underground sections are poorly lit and can be confusing.

Unlike most catacombs cut from quarries, those of San Giovanni were built on an ancient aqueduct: a wide central gallery, the former decumanus maximus, leads to round rooms that were once water cisterns. The archaeologist Paolo Orsi studied them between 1893 and 1909, and in 1872 Saverio Cavallari found here the 5th-century sarcophagus of Adelphia, now in the Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum.