Mamertine Prison in Rome: Hours, Price, Verdict

Mamertine Prison in Rome: what it is and whether it still exists

The Mamertine Prison is the oldest prison in Rome, and it still stands beside the Roman Forum. Turismo Roma, the city's tourist board, gives the address as Clivo Argentario, 1. The prison lies beneath the church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami.

Its Latin name is Carcer Tullianum. The name Mamertine Prison, or Carcere Mamertino, came later. The Italian Ministry of Culture says the name dates from the Middle Ages.

You do not just look at a ruin from the street. You go inside, walk down, and stand in the rooms where prisoners were held.

Here is the short version.

Why the Mamertine Prison is famous

The prison is famous for two reasons. It held enemies of Rome, and it is linked to the apostles Peter and Paul. The tourist board says the prison was built by King Ancus Marcius in the 7th century BC, so it is about 2,700 years old.

Enemies and traitors of the Roman state were held and put to death there. The tourist board names two prisoners. Jugurtha, king of Numidia, was held in 104 BC, and Vercingetorix, king of the Gauls, in 46 BC.

By tradition, Peter and Paul were also imprisoned here before their martyrdom. The word "tradition" matters. The official pages pass this on as the tradition, not as a proven fact.

Later, both rooms were turned into chapels. The church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami was then built over them.

Key Takeaway The prison is about 2,700 years old by the tourist board's count, held Jugurtha and Vercingetorix, and is tied by tradition to Peter and Paul.

A prison tells you what a city feared, not only what it built.

Can you visit the Mamertine Prison? Hours, tickets and access

You can visit the Mamertine Prison every day from 9:00 to 17:00. The Ministry of Culture page lists no closing day and says booking is not required. It does not give a last entry time, so arrive well before 17:00.

The ticket seller is Omnia Vatican & Rome. On its ticket page the full ticket costs €10 for ages 18 and up. Ages 6 to 17 and EU students up to 25 pay €5. A multilingual audio guide is part of the visit, and you load it in the Vatican&Rome app. It comes in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. The seller lists the ticket as guaranteed access with a booked date and time, and gives the meeting point as the prison itself on Clivo Argentario. The page names no group size and no last entry time. The page shows no rating or reviews, and GetYourGuide does not list this ticket. It states no cancellation or refund rule on the page itself; the rules sit in a PDF of general conditions, which we did not open, so read it before you pay. The page names no operator, and its footer credits ORP (Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi). The seller's FAQ page lists customer service by phone or email at info@omniavaticanrome.org, Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 17:00.

On the first Sunday of the month, tickets bought at the prison itself cost €5 for adults. Children from 6 to 17 and EU students up to 25 enter free that day. The page says this only for tickets bought on site.

The visit takes 40 minutes by the seller's count. The seller states that for logistic reasons the site is not suitable for people who have difficulty walking. Stairs lead down to the lower room, so plan around that.

For the way there, the seller names buses 40 and 64 and tram 8 to Piazza Venezia, then a walk of about five minutes. Our Rome public transport guide explains tickets and routes.

Pro Tip The €10 ticket includes an audio guide in the Vatican&Rome app, so download the app and your language before you reach the door.

What the Mamertine Prison is like inside

Two rooms, one above the other, make up the Mamertine Prison. The upper room is the Carcer. A flight of stairs leads down to the lower room, the Tullianum, according to the tourist board.

The seller's page adds detail on the two levels. The lower room, the Tullianum, is the older one and dates to the 7th century BC. The upper room, the Carcer, was built a century later and rebuilt several times, and it got a large travertine front in the Republican and early imperial period. The seller says both rooms became chapels, and that scholars place the change to a church in the 4th century. A fresco fragment from the 8th century is still visible on a wall of the Tullianum. A chapel of the Crucifix above lets worshippers pray today.

So you see a place that was a prison first and a place of prayer after. The pages give no light levels, temperature or number of visitors allowed at once, so we cannot describe those. The official pages say nothing about queues, so we cannot give you a wait time.

The visit is short. The seller's page puts it at 40 minutes, and the audio guide leads you through. The seller offers no guided visit of the prison itself, so the audio guide is the only guide it names.

Plan it as a short stop next to the Forum, not as a day out.

Is the Mamertine Prison worth it?

The visit is worth it if you like ancient history or the story of Peter and Paul. It costs €10 and about 40 minutes. That is a small price for a site that is 2,700 years old by the tourist board's count.

Here is how to decide.

The prison is not on the Colosseum Archaeological Park's list of tickets. That ticket page names the 24h Colosseum, Forum and Palatine ticket, the Forum pass and several arena tickets, but none that includes the prison. So you buy its ticket on its own or in a bundle.

Things to Do in Rome's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 26 listings with the Roman Forum in the title, from €22.40. None of the tours we picked names the prison as a stop.

How the Mamertine Prison fits a Roman Forum visit

The easiest plan is to see the prison first, then the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine in one day. The seller's bundle ticket costs €34 for adults. It includes the prison, an entry to the Colosseum, and an entry to the Forum and Palatine.

The bundle costs €6 more than buying the €18 Colosseum ticket and the €10 prison ticket separately. It also adds a multimedia audio guide for the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine. The ticket is valid for one day.

The Colosseum needs a booked time slot. The seller says to pick a slot about one hour after your prison visit and to arrive at the Colosseum at least 15 minutes early. The Forum and Palatine need no booking. You must bring ID, because the tickets are named. The seller's page shows no rating for the bundle and no cancellation rule, so the ratings below belong to the guided tours only.

If you want a guide, the three tours below visit the Colosseum and the Forum. The Colosseum and Roman Forum tour is run by Let's See Italy. It takes 2 to 3 hours, is from €80 per person, and is rated 4.5 from 988 reviews. It offers free cancellation.

The small-group arena and Forum tour is run by CityEyes Private Tours. It takes 3 hours and is from €129 per person, rated 4.8 from 735 reviews. It is not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments.

The small-group Colosseum, Forum and Palatine tour is run by Tour Italy LTD. It takes 2.5 to 3 hours and is from €112 per person, rated 4.6 from 444 reviews. The listing says free cancellation is not offered.

If you have seen the Forum before, the Domus Aurea tour is another ancient site. It is run by C.I.S. Tours, takes 1.5 hours, and is from €70 per person. It is rated 4.6 from 306 reviews and is not suitable for people with claustrophobia. Our Domus Aurea guide tells you more.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

When the Mamertine Prison is the wrong choice

The prison is the wrong choice if you have trouble with stairs, because the seller says the site is not suitable for people who have difficulty walking. It is also the wrong choice for a very short Rome stay, since 40 minutes is time you could spend at the Forum itself.

A guided tour is the wrong choice if you only want this one site. The tours above cover the Colosseum and Forum and do not name the prison, so you would pay for a day you do not need. For the prison alone, the €10 ticket and the audio guide are enough. We found no listing for a guided visit of the prison alone, so a live guide here is not a published option.

Prices change. Check the ticket page before you go.