The underground tour of the Basilica of San Clemente offers a fascinating journey through layers of history spanning several centuries.
The tour starts at the current 12th-century basilica, which itself is a marvel with beautiful medieval mosaics, frescoes, and a magnificent apse. This earlier church features remnants of stunning frescoes depicting various biblical scenes and the life of St. Clement. Roman Structures and Mithraeum: Descending further, visitors reach a level dating back to the 1st century. Here, you'll find remains of a Roman house and a Mithraeum, a temple dedicated to the Persian god Mithras. This Mithraeum includes a well-preserved altar and a relief showing Mithras slaying the bull, a key iconography in Mithraic worship. At the deepest level, the tour reveals the foundations and structures of the early Roman era, including a 1st-century Roman house and an earlier public building.
