Mamertine Prison Tickets and Information

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• Mamertine Prison Address: Clivo Argentario, 00186, Rome
• Opening Hours: Daily from 09:00 - 17:00

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Is Mamertine Prison Worth Visiting

• Mamertine Prison is a fascinating place to visit because of its history, yes.

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What You Can See At Mamertine Prison

• The two prison chambers, the Upper Chamber and the Lower Chamber.
• The famous small sacred spring.
• The Chapel.
• Parts of the church that sits above.

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About Mamertine Prison

Mamertine Prison (also known as Carcer Tullianum) dates back to the 7th century BC and is one of Rome's ancient historical sites. The prison is below a church (the church was added later) that sits between The Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill and it (the prison) served as a high-security state prison in Ancient Rome for important prisoners including enemies of the Roman state, royalty, and according to some, even saints.

It has two main chambers, the 'Lower Chamber', which is called the 'Tullianum', which is also believed to be the oldest part of the prison and potentially dates back to the reign of Ancus Marcius, and the 'Upper Chamber' which was called the 'Carcer'. The prison was made of huge stone blocks and at the time didn't have doors at ground level, the prisoners were lowered in through holes in the ceilings.

Famous prisoners have included the King of Numidia, who also reportedly died there and Vercingetorix, who was the leader of the Gauls and was defeated by Julius Caesar, who imprisoned him there until his execution in 46BC. Its also suggested that Saint Peter & Paul were imprisoned in the jail. Legend has it that the famous spring in the lower chamber only appeared there once Saint Peter was imprisoned and he used it to baptise prisoners and guards and it was because of the spring and connection to Saint Peter that it became a pilgrimage location later on. However, its also said the lower chamber may have originally been constructed to act as a cistern (water storage chamber) before being converted into a second prison chamber and if the cistern was built next to a water source, which would make sense, then the spring appearing in it would also make sense!

You can see the two chambers and the holes that were used for lowering the prisoners in and how this made it one of the most secure prisons as there weren't any doors, just the small holes for entry and exit.

Useful Information About Mamertine Prison

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Mamertine Prison Address

• Mamertine Prison, Clivo Argentario, 00186, Rome

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Opening Hours

• Monday: 09:00 - 17:00
• Tuesday: 09:00 - 17:00
• Wednesday: 09:00 - 17:00
• Thursday: 09:00 - 17:00
• Friday: 09:00 - 17:00
• Saturday: 09:00 - 17:00
• Sunday: 09:00 - 17:00