San Clemente_01
The present basilica that stands as the Basilica di San Clemente was built under the direction of Cardinal Anastasius during the 12th century. However, below the street level lies the remains of a 4th century church and even deeper below ground we can see a temple of worship for the Mithraic cult. The Basilica di San Clemente is very beautiful. The outside terrace is adorned with 12th century columns. Inside the street level church we can see frescos from the 15th century that have been restored. Here we see some of the first examples of attempting to create a three dimensional feel through paintings. We also encounter 12th century mosaics as well as 12th century frescos. The lower levels are composed of intricate passage ways. The upper levels of the church were made in dedication to St. Clement who was the exiled fourth pope. St. Clement was tied to an anchor and drowned, he died as a martyr. Some frescos within the church demonstrate his plight. There are signs that the lower levels of the site were the place of pagan worship. This can be seen by the Altar of Mithras, a pagan cult rival to Christianity. I chose the church because it is the best of example of the passage of time. In one church we can literally see the different levels of history. We can also see how a site dedicated to pagan ritual can later become a site dedicated to the Christian plight. Also, I was very astonished by how well preserved the lower levels of S. Clemente were.
Elena Noureddine, Survey of Art and Architecture, University of Florida
San Clemente_02
The Church of S. Clemente is a great place to experience Rome’s multilayered history. S. Clemente is a very unique church. From the outside it looks like just a building and inside it looks like a normal church but little did we know that it is a series of structures built on top of each other. The structures were built on top of each other over thousands of years. S. Clemente is the only church where visitors can go thirty feet below present street level and two thousand years into the past. The building is a medieval church built in the early 1100s but the frescos range in date from the fifteenth to eighteenth century. The church part of S. Clemente is adorned with gold and has many arches. Beneath the present church are three more levels with artifacts and history. No one knew what was beneath S. Clemente until the mid-1800s. In 1857 Fr. Joseph Mullooly became convinced by the architectural design that the present church could not be the original and that there was more to it. Under the church he found the remains of another, larger church of the fourth century and below those remains an even earlier Roman building. Beneath the previous three were the remains of a building from the first century that were destroyed in a fire. The lower levels definitely do not resemble the present appearance of the church that is on top. It was astonishing walking underground and trying to imagine that at one time the lower levels were actually at ground level. I found it very interesting to see the running water in one level. It is hard to imagine the underground levels as churches because they are definitely unlike the churches of today.
Katie Whitmore, Survey of Art and Architecture, St. John’s University
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