In Sant'Antioco the only Sardinian catacombs

The catacombs are underground caverns, in which the first Christians met clandestinely to celebrate rituals and to bury their dead. They represent the most important monumental evidence of the Christianity of the origins but even of the martyrdom endured by dozens thousands of people. A relevant profession of faith.

In Sant'Antioco it is possible to visit the catacombs built on the calcareous rock by the Phoenicians and arranged by the Romans during the period of I-IV century A.D. The site, which is unique in Sardinia, can be accessed by the parish church of Sant'Antonio, built in the XII century on an early Christian setting of the V century.

Very interesting are the wall-paintings, which are only partially intact, and the loculus in which were buried the dead. In the principal room you can admire an altar-sarcophagus, which held for a long time the relics of Sant’ Antioco who, according to the tradition has spent his last days inside these catacombs.