In Search of Immortality: Italy’s Monumental Cemeteries and More with Symbologist Tui Snider
October 31 – November 10, 2025
If you missed Tui’s first excursion to Italian Monumental Cemeteries, you have an opportunity to join us for a new version, beginning in the Eternal City of Rome, Italy, on…of all days…Halloween, 2025!
What better day, what better year than this, Rome’s Jubilee Year? This is sure to be a memorable experience that you will not soon forget.
Register here or read on…
We will connect in Rome on the morning of October 31st and get acquainted over a casual “Meet, Greet and Eat” meal before heading out to our first destination: the underground Capuchin Crypt and the Roman catacombs. Our English-speaking guide will give us interesting facts and details about the thrilling (possibly chilling?) sights we are about to encounter. Tui will also have information to share with you, since Death and Death Symbolism are her areas of expertise.
After the first day’s tour, you will have some free time to refresh in your hotel room and connect with other “like-minded souls” for a dinner in one of the local trattorias or do a bit of wandering on your own. But don’t stay out too late…the next day is full of places to go and things to see that you will not want to miss.
We will spend our second full day at Campo Verano, the Monumental Cemetery of Rome, which covers about 83 hectares.
(Entrance to the catacombs of St. Ciriaca through Verano cemetery with the inscription Coemeterium Cyriacae. )
The name Verano refers to the ancient Roman Campo dei Verani that was located here. The modern cemetery was not established until the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy during 1807–1812, as laws required burials to take place outside of the city walls. Although the cemetery was consecrated in 1835, the works continued during the pontificates of Gregory XVI and Pius IX. The vast burial ground in an open-air museum setting is located on an undulating slope, dotted with majestic tombs in different styles, varying from Neoclassical architecture to Art Nouveau. Pope Francis celebrated All Saints Day Mass here on a papal visit to the cemetery on 1 November 2014, and if we are lucky, perhaps we, too, will see such a celebration on this All Saints Day.
In addition to our cemetery and crypt haunts, on Sunday we will visit St Peter’s Basilca, an unforgettable monument in itself. Most likely Pope Francis will be officiating a blessing from the balcony in the morning (or even possibly a mass!). This is a weekly tradition attended by many and perhaps you will want to experience it. This year, being the Jubilee Year, may offer a more unique celebration, so we will be prepared for that.
Inside the Basilica, the sculptural tombs and the Baldachin will amaze you and cause you to wonder just how those twisting marble pillars were created by hand tools with such precision.
Don’t miss the Michelangelo’s Pieta on your way through, created when he was a youngster of only 24 years. Although the original is located down below behind a glass case in the Basilica Treasury, you can view this excellent copy on the main level. The delicacy of the Virgin Mary’s gaze on her expired son may bring you to tears.
After spending our 3rd night in Rome we will begin our wanderings northwest on to Ostia Antica, about 50 minutes away by van. It is the first Roman port and known as the “Little Pompei.” Here you will see ruins of the city, mosaics that are still intact, and get a glimpse of early Roman city life. There is a wonderful amphitheater and various dwellings that illuminate the ancient village life at the time. There is a museum of artifacts and wonderful statues as well that you will want to check out.
And, I must add, this is a cat sanctuary, as are most of the Roman ruins in and around Rome. The cats are cared for and fed by the staff, although 50 years ago the work was handled mostly by volunteers called Gattare, usually little Italian ladies who carried daily bags of bread crusts, cheese bits and other scraps to feed the cats. Italians love their cats.
From Ostia Antica, we will meander up to Viterbo and its surrounds. This is the largest ancient Medieval historical center in Italy and it offers us great architecture, food (always the food in Italy!), comfortable accommodations and another Monumental cemetery to see. There is an underground tour beneath the Piazza delle Morte and some thermal spas that we may be able to take in.
From Viterbo we will go back even further in time, to Tarquinia, an Etruscan settlement. Known at “Tarchuna” in ancient times, it is a fascinating look into the mysteries of Etruscan life and burial sites. There are over 6000 Etruscan tombs in the Necropolis of Monterozzi, about 200 of which offer examples of painted decoration. Both Monterozzi and its neighbor, Cerveteri, are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Next, we will also spend a relaxing day in Orvieto, home to a unique Duomo that showcases Luca Signorelli’s End of the World fresco series, always the highlight of my visit. Here you will see the first ever depiction of the Apocalypse and also works that inspired Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Judgement wall. However, there are many things to see (and places to eat!) in Orvieto if art is not your thing. But at least check out the translucent stone windows in the Duomo, and marvel at the ability of the craftsmen to cut such thin pieces of stone with their ancient tools. If you are luck, there may be an organist practicing or performing on the majestic pipe organ containing 5585 pipes and created by Ippolito Scalza himself in the 15th century.
Moving northward into Tuscany, we will, settle into our final resting place (Just kidding!). We will lodge at Montalla in Contignano and day trip to some wonderful and iconic sites, including Pienza, known as the “ideal Rennaissance city” and home to the Piccolomini family and Pope Pius III. Perhaps you will meet local artist, Isabella Bisa and decide to take home one of her original Tuscan landscape paintings. It is an easily walkable city and has been the choice for movie makers over the years. Films such as Franco Zefferelli’s 1968 Romeo and Juliet, Russell Crowe in Gladiator and Dustin Hoffman in The Medici were all filmed in part here. The panoramic view from the city wall of the terroir is magnificent and worthy of a photo (or several).
Additionally, we will take in Cortona and finally finish up our adventure in Siena, with a visit to see St Catherine’s head. (Yes, you did hear that correctly…I said “head.”) St Catherine of Siena’s head is one of the most treasured relics of the Catholic Church; she is the patron saint of Siena. You can see one of her fingers there as well. No photos here please, however you can buy a great postcard for your collection in the gift shop along with other artifacts and books.
So. these 10 days will give you much to see and ponder, photograph and/or sketch, and a lively bunch of interesting folks to journey with. You will go home having seen things that most people will never see in their travels, thanks to the knowledge, enthusiasm and experience of your hosts and guides. Living here, I personally want to give you the experience that a typical tourist will never have since they are busy rushing from one place to the next listed in their guidebook and checking them furiously off their list of “must sees.” Tui’s passion for her subject is infectious (but in a good way!) and she is generous with her knowledge. And our driver, Remigio, is a ton of fun to ride with and a gastronomic expert who has eaten his way around Italy MANY times over. You cannot go wrong.
Because we intentionally keep the groups small (12 or less), you will have time to experience the places we visit while making some new friends along the way. This is the way to travel…you are not trying to do this all “solo”, but you are not herded along either. I hope you will join us. I know you will be glad you did, and you will have memories for a lifetime!
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