Basilica di San Clemente

Yesterday my Catholicism class had a site visit to the Basilica di San Clemente. This church is very unique archaeologically speaking because it has three different levels. Before I list the different levels of San Clemente, I have to mention the reason for the different levels. Rome's ground level was constantly rising because the Tiber River flooded frequently carrying silt throughout the city of Rome. Therefore, all of Ancient Rome is technically underground. The only reason present day Rome does not have a rising ground level is because high stone embankments were built fairly recently in the late 1800's.

The present church was built in 1100 during the Middle Ages. Beneath the basilica is a 4th century basilica that had been converted out of the home of a Roman nobleman. This level was originally a room he had given to Christians to practice their religion because Christianity was not legal prior to the rule of Emperor Constantine. The third level contains the remnants of the foundation of a republican era building that was destroyed in the Great Fire of 64.


One part of the church I found particularly interesting was a basement of the 4th century church that contained a Mithraem. A Mithraem is a room dedicated to the Mithraic Mysteries which was a mystery religion practiced in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD. The Mithraic cults believed in the Greek god Mithras who presumably sacrificed a bull and from the bull's blood everything was created. The picture below was taken offline because I wasn't permitted to take pictures inside the church, but if you can make out the center piece it is a podium-like structure. Carved into this structure is a scene depicting Mithras killing a bull. On the sides surrounding this structure are beds in which people practicing this religion would lay down head pressed up against the wall, feet upward so they're bodies would be at a downward slant. At this downward(I would imagine incredibly uncomfortable) position the people would feast for hours.



Thanks to my fabulous professor Ann Giletti, I was able to learn all of this amazing information about the church. The Basilica di San Clemente is by far one of my favorite site visits and churches I have seen in Rome. Although I have lived here for a whole month and a half, I feel as though I have just barely taken a few slices of the giant pizza I think of Rome as. With every slice I appreciate it more and am starting to figure out what is in this giant Pizza. Although I might never figure out every little ingredient, I'm enjoying it delicious bite at a time.