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Vatican Necropolis

The Vatican Necropolis lies beneath St Peter's Basilica, sealed for sixteen centuries under the Constantinian church before excavations began in 1939. The site contains Roman mausolea dating from the second and third centuries, early Christian burials and what is believed to be the tomb of St Peter, over which Constantine built his basilica and Michelangelo later centred his dome. Access remains tightly restricted.

The emblem of the Holy See, the crossed keys of St Peter beneath the papal tiara.

Sister Judith Zoebelein

Founder of the Vatican website

“What is most striking about Michael Luke Davies is not just his technical skills, nor his ability to film, nor his craft in composing a presentation. It is rather his “outside-the-box” creativity, that is, to see in a proposal or project much more than meets the normal eye. His artistic ability to present already interesting material in a stunning way that captures interest and curiosity is what, in my opinion, is his greatest asset and gift to anyone with whom he works. He designed for the Vatican Web site the first virtual visit of the excavations under St Peters Basilica. He helped develop the film for the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and supported some of our more difficult website constructions. Truly an artist!”

Vatican Necropolis

The Vatican Necropolis lies beneath St Peter's Basilica, sealed for sixteen centuries under the Constantinian church before excavations began in 1939. The site contains Roman mausolea dating from the second and third centuries, early Christian burials and what is believed to be the tomb of St Peter, over which Constantine built his basilica and Michelangelo later centred his dome. Access remains tightly restricted.

The emblem of the Holy See, the crossed keys of St Peter beneath the papal tiara.

Sister Judith Zoebelein

Founder of the Vatican website

“What is most striking about Michael Luke Davies is not just his technical skills, nor his ability to film, nor his craft in composing a presentation. It is rather his “outside-the-box” creativity, that is, to see in a proposal or project much more than meets the normal eye. His artistic ability to present already interesting material in a stunning way that captures interest and curiosity is what, in my opinion, is his greatest asset and gift to anyone with whom he works. He designed for the Vatican Web site the first virtual visit of the excavations under St Peters Basilica. He helped develop the film for the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and supported some of our more difficult website constructions. Truly an artist!”

Vatican Necropolis

The Vatican Necropolis lies beneath St Peter's Basilica, sealed for sixteen centuries under the Constantinian church before excavations began in 1939. The site contains Roman mausolea dating from the second and third centuries, early Christian burials and what is believed to be the tomb of St Peter, over which Constantine built his basilica and Michelangelo later centred his dome. Access remains tightly restricted.

The emblem of the Holy See, the crossed keys of St Peter beneath the papal tiara.

Sister Judith Zoebelein

Founder of the Vatican website

“What is most striking about Michael Luke Davies is not just his technical skills, nor his ability to film, nor his craft in composing a presentation. It is rather his “outside-the-box” creativity, that is, to see in a proposal or project much more than meets the normal eye. His artistic ability to present already interesting material in a stunning way that captures interest and curiosity is what, in my opinion, is his greatest asset and gift to anyone with whom he works. He designed for the Vatican Web site the first virtual visit of the excavations under St Peters Basilica. He helped develop the film for the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and supported some of our more difficult website constructions. Truly an artist!”

Vatican Necropolis

The Vatican Necropolis lies beneath St Peter's Basilica, sealed for sixteen centuries under the Constantinian church before excavations began in 1939. The site contains Roman mausolea dating from the second and third centuries, early Christian burials and what is believed to be the tomb of St Peter, over which Constantine built his basilica and Michelangelo later centred his dome. Access remains tightly restricted.

The emblem of the Holy See, the crossed keys of St Peter beneath the papal tiara.

Sister Judith Zoebelein

Founder of the Vatican website

“What is most striking about Michael Luke Davies is not just his technical skills, nor his ability to film, nor his craft in composing a presentation. It is rather his “outside-the-box” creativity, that is, to see in a proposal or project much more than meets the normal eye. His artistic ability to present already interesting material in a stunning way that captures interest and curiosity is what, in my opinion, is his greatest asset and gift to anyone with whom he works. He designed for the Vatican Web site the first virtual visit of the excavations under St Peters Basilica. He helped develop the film for the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and supported some of our more difficult website constructions. Truly an artist!”

Overview

We created the first virtual tour of the Necropolis for the official website of the Holy See, using 360-degree panoramic photography, working with its Internet Office. Michael Luke Davies was granted independent access to photograph the excavations, often working in close proximity to the tomb of St Peter. The project was commissioned by Vatican officials, with production supported by Buckfast Abbey.

Interior of St Peter's Basilica, with Bernini's bronze baldachin beneath Michelangelo's dome and a lone visitor for scale.
The Niche of the Pallia before St Peter's tomb: a gilded shrine flanked by bronze apostle statues and marble columns.
A narrow brick-walled lane between ancient mausolea in the Vatican Necropolis, lit by a string of small overhead lights.
Inside the Mausoleum of the Caetennii: red walls, scallop-shell stucco niches, a mosaic floor and an amphora on the ground.
Looking up at Bernini's bronze baldachin in St Peter's, its columns rising to a golden sunburst and dove of the Holy Spirit.
Inside the Niche of the Pallia: a reliquary casket beneath a gold mosaic of Christ, beside a painted figure of St Peter.
Weathered wall of a Roman columbarium beneath St Peter's, its square niches around a red shell recess holding a single urn.
The Tomb of the Chariot (Tomb I) in the Vatican Necropolis: a painted peacock above a columned niche with a stucco shell.
The Confessio before St Peter's tomb: a marble staircase with gilded candelabra descending to a glowing vaulted passage.
The graffiti wall beside St Peter's tomb: scratched plaster above a niche holding the bone fragments of St Peter himself.
The Mausoleum of the Caetennii: a frescoed Roman tomb with an apsidal niche and a marble funerary altar inscribed in Latin.
A Roman mausoleum with marble sarcophagi below niches of white stucco statues in robes, under a modern protective ceiling.
Interior of St Peter's Basilica, with Bernini's bronze baldachin beneath Michelangelo's dome and a lone visitor for scale.
The Confessio before St Peter's tomb: a marble staircase with gilded candelabra descending to a glowing vaulted passage.
Inside the Niche of the Pallia: a reliquary casket beneath a gold mosaic of Christ, beside a painted figure of St Peter.
A narrow brick-walled lane between ancient mausolea in the Vatican Necropolis, lit by a string of small overhead lights.
The Mausoleum of the Caetennii: a frescoed Roman tomb with an apsidal niche and a marble funerary altar inscribed in Latin.
The Tomb of the Chariot (Tomb I) in the Vatican Necropolis: a painted peacock above a columned niche with a stucco shell.
Looking up at Bernini's bronze baldachin in St Peter's, its columns rising to a golden sunburst and dove of the Holy Spirit.
The Niche of the Pallia before St Peter's tomb: a gilded shrine flanked by bronze apostle statues and marble columns.
The graffiti wall beside St Peter's tomb: scratched plaster above a niche holding the bone fragments of St Peter himself.
Weathered wall of a Roman columbarium beneath St Peter's, its square niches around a red shell recess holding a single urn.
Inside the Mausoleum of the Caetennii: red walls, scallop-shell stucco niches, a mosaic floor and an amphora on the ground.
A Roman mausoleum with marble sarcophagi below niches of white stucco statues in robes, under a modern protective ceiling.
Interior of St Peter's Basilica, with Bernini's bronze baldachin beneath Michelangelo's dome and a lone visitor for scale.
The Confessio before St Peter's tomb: a marble staircase with gilded candelabra descending to a glowing vaulted passage.
Inside the Niche of the Pallia: a reliquary casket beneath a gold mosaic of Christ, beside a painted figure of St Peter.
A narrow brick-walled lane between ancient mausolea in the Vatican Necropolis, lit by a string of small overhead lights.
The Mausoleum of the Caetennii: a frescoed Roman tomb with an apsidal niche and a marble funerary altar inscribed in Latin.
The Tomb of the Chariot (Tomb I) in the Vatican Necropolis: a painted peacock above a columned niche with a stucco shell.
Looking up at Bernini's bronze baldachin in St Peter's, its columns rising to a golden sunburst and dove of the Holy Spirit.
The Niche of the Pallia before St Peter's tomb: a gilded shrine flanked by bronze apostle statues and marble columns.
The graffiti wall beside St Peter's tomb: scratched plaster above a niche holding the bone fragments of St Peter himself.
Weathered wall of a Roman columbarium beneath St Peter's, its square niches around a red shell recess holding a single urn.
Inside the Mausoleum of the Caetennii: red walls, scallop-shell stucco niches, a mosaic floor and an amphora on the ground.
A Roman mausoleum with marble sarcophagi below niches of white stucco statues in robes, under a modern protective ceiling.

Please note: these are cropped images from our panoramic photography of the Basilica and its Necropolis, not the virtual tour itself, shown here to illustrate our work.

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Our work is trusted by the Vatican, the English Benedictine Congregation and monasteries worldwide.

© 2025 Native Multimedia

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Native Multimedia

Our work is trusted by the Vatican, the English Benedictine Congregation and monasteries worldwide.

© 2025 Native Multimedia

All rights reserved

Native Multimedia

Our work is trusted by the Vatican, the English Benedictine Congregation and monasteries worldwide.

© 2025 Native Multimedia

All rights reserved

Native Multimedia

Our work is trusted by the Vatican, the English Benedictine Congregation and monasteries worldwide.

© 2025 Native Multimedia

All rights reserved