Basilica di San Clemente and SS Quattro Coronati

I hadn't had a good night of sleep -- it felt as if I was up the whole night just feeling my throat get tighter and tighter. In the morning, I got up early and gargled with warm salt water, then I took a couple of Advil. By the time the kids were leaving for school, I felt well enough to join a "walk" hosted by a woman named Nancy De Concillius. She is an American, who has been living in Rome since 1966 and has been guiding since 1985. She conducts tours that are usually a bit off the beaten track, and which focus on art history and Roman archaeological history. I learned about these "walks" held every Monday and Tuesday morning, just as the season came to an end last November. Today was the first walk of the new season which would run through March.

We met at the Basilica di San Clemente. I didn't know anything about this church ahead of the tour. Turns out it was absolutely incredible what went on here. In the 1st century AD, a private home was built here. It is believed that early Christians secretly met in this home. Then by the early third century, a Mithraeum Temple was built adjacent to the home. Mithras was a cult-like religion, open to men only, where rituals were carried out in these cave like dwellings. For example, a man intending to join the cult would be asked to put on a white robe. Then a pit would be dug into the ground where the man would lie down in his white robe. A bull would be positioned over the man in the pit, and the animal's throat would be slit. This would allow the man in the pit to be soaked in bull's blood. And, that's just one example of a Mithras ritual.

By the late in the 4th century AD, Christianity became the official religion in Rome. Much was done to destroy the Temple of Mithras, and a church was built on top of its ruins. This church was quite large and was restored several times. It has many frescos dating from the 6th, 8th and 9th centuries, including one with the story of St. Clement for whom the church was named. In order to see this church and the Temple of Mithras below it, you must go underground as these houses of worship were discovered only after a massive excavation in the 19th century.

In 1084, the Normans ransacked Rome and the entire complex was destroyed. Not too long afterwards, in 1108, a new church was built on top of the old one from the 4th century which had been built on top of the Temple of Mithras from the 3rd century. A tour of the Basilica today, allows its visitors to literally step back (or in this case down) in time.

The Basilica di San Clemente built in 1108 is largely unchanged today although it has been restored. The highlight is a gorgeous mosaic that fills up the entire central apse. If you are interested, there are some good photos and information about the basilica on the following website:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-san-clemente

Afterwards, we walked up the hill to visit the Santi Quattro Coronati. This church was founded in the 4th or 5th century and was rebuilt in the 11th century. Today it also operates as a convent. We saw some very interesting frescoes in one of the chapels, and also learned about the significance of the way in which the stones are laid to create the church or chapel floor. Both San Clemente and Quatto Coronati also had really lovely courtyards. These were necessary for the pagans and allowed them to remain outside the church but to observe what was going on inside so they could learn how to be good Christians.

Nancy was a very knowledgeable and extremely engaging guide, and I really enjoyed the tour. Unfortunately, standing around in cold, dank churches was probably not the best prescription for my sore throat. By later in the afternoon, I had a fever.