Fr. Trask's Sabbatical Ruminations

The Mamertine Prison is Rome’s oldest prison, for many centuries a maximum security penitentiary for the enemies of Rome awaiting execution.   Here, according to tradition, the Apostles Peter and Paul lived their last days before being executed: Peter at the Circus of Nero in the area of the Vatican Hill, and; Paul, towards the Aquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina.

Originally the complex was much larger, but now only two cells and part of the facade remain. The cell consisted of an upper section (Carcer) and a lower section (Tullianum). The Tullianum was probably built in the 3rd century BC and was connected to the Carcer with a hole. The Tullianum was used as a death row. Prisoners were let down through the hole in the ceiling and executed on this death row. In the end, the bodies were transported via the Tiber River.

The prison was in use until the 4th century and in the 16th century the church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami was built on top of the Mamertine prison. The name Mamertine is probably derived from the Latin “Mamertinus”, referring to the god of war Mars and his nearby altar.