# The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome: Hours, the Keats Grave, and How to Visit Beside the Pyramid

A practical guide to the Cimitero Acattolico: opening times, the requested contribution, and how to behave in an active burial ground

The Non-Catholic Cemetery, often called the Protestant Cemetery or Cimitero Acattolico, stands in Testaccio at Via Caio Cestio 6, against the brick wall of the Aurelian Walls and the white Pyramid of Cestius. It is one of the oldest burial grounds in continuous use in Europe, and it is still active. Funerals take place here. People come to visit family graves. That is the first thing to keep in mind: this is not a park that happens to have tombs in it.

It is also one of the quietest corners in this part of Rome, and the burial place of John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley (his ashes), Antonio Gramsci, and of foreign residents who could not be buried in Catholic ground.

# Hours and the requested contribution

According to the cemetery’s official site, the grounds are open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m. On Sundays and holidays, hours are 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with last entry at 12:30 p.m. The cemetery closes for several days around Christmas and New Year, on 6 January, and for two weeks in mid-August. On some national holidays it follows the shorter Sunday timetable. It may also close without notice in bad weather or for a funeral. Check cemeteryrome.it before a special trip.

There is no fixed ticket. The administration asks for a voluntary contribution of €5 per visitor, paid on site to the staff. It goes toward the upkeep of a privately run site. Groups must book in advance and are admitted only at set times.

# How to get there

The entrance is halfway along Via Caio Cestio, a side street off Via Marmorata, on the north side of the Pyramid. Metro Line B to Piramide is the simplest approach; the walk from the station is about five minutes. Buses and tram 3 also stop nearby.

You can see the Pyramid clearly from the older part of the cemetery, but you cannot enter the Pyramid from the garden. The two visits are separate.

# What to see, without treating it as a checklist

The older section, closest to the Pyramid, holds the grave of Keats, who died in Rome in 1821 at twenty-five. The stone does not bear his name. It is carved with the epitaph he wanted: “Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water.” Beside him is Joseph Severn, who stayed with him at the house beside the Spanish Steps, now the Keats-Shelley House.

Shelley’s ashes were buried here after he drowned off the Italian coast in 1822. The stone sits deeper in the garden, under taller trees. Gramsci’s grave is in a later section and is still visited as a political memorial as well as a tomb.

The point of a visit is less to tick names than to walk the paths slowly. Cypresses, roses, and stray cats are part of the place. The cats are cared for; do not feed them unless the staff indicate otherwise. Paths can be uneven, and some areas are not fully accessible. Comfortable shoes help.

A map is available at the visitors’ centre, where volunteers can point out the main graves if you ask. An hour is enough for a first visit; ninety minutes if you want to sit.

# Behaviour and photography

Voices stay low. Do not picnic, sit on monuments, or step across plots for a photograph. Tripods and professional setups are out of place unless the administration has agreed to them. Personal photographs are usually tolerated if they are discreet and do not include mourners or funeral parties.

The light is often best in the morning, when the Pyramid is lit and the garden is still in shade. The Rome by Finzi guide to the best time of day for photos explains how morning light works on the south side of the city. This is not a portrait location in the ordinary sense. If a quiet, unhurried frame of a person is the aim, the guide to looking natural in photographs is more useful than any list of “poses,” and the cemetery should still come second to respect for the graves.

A longer, less constrained session belongs outside the walls, in Testaccio or toward the river, or as a solo portrait session planned around public streets rather than an active burial ground.

# Combining the visit with the neighborhood

The cemetery sits at the edge of Testaccio. After a morning here, the market is a short walk on weekdays, and Monte Testaccio is close. The Pyramid and Porta San Paolo can be seen from the street. Ostiense is one metro stop or a longer walk south.

Sunday hours are shorter and coincide with Porta Portese, which is loud. If the cemetery is the priority, a weekday is calmer.

# Frequently asked questions

Is the cemetery free? There is no ticket office in the usual sense, but a €5 contribution per person is requested and should be budgeted for.

Can you visit on Sunday? Yes, until 1:00 p.m., last entry at 12:30 p.m.

Is it the same as the Verano cemetery? No. Verano is the large municipal cemetery in the San Lorenzo area. This is a smaller, privately run non-Catholic cemetery beside the Pyramid.

Go for the quiet and the garden as much as for the famous names, and leave as you would leave any place where people are still buried and still mourned.