St. Clemente Basilica with Underground Experience Visit
Description
The Basilica of San Clemente is one of the most fascinating and surprising treasures of Rome, a true journey through over 2,000 years of history. On the surface, admire the elegant 12th century medieval basilica, famous for its magnificent apse mosaic and cosy atmosphere. Descending into the underground levels, you will find yourself in the early Christian basilica of the fourth century, decorated with extraordinary frescoes that tell stories of saints and martyrs. Further down, you will discover remains of 1st century Roman buildings, including an ancient mithraea dedicated to the cult of Mithras. Each level reveals a different era, showing how Rome has transformed over time without ever erasing its past. The Basilica of San Clemente is an unmissable experience for those who want to understand the deep soul of the city, where archaeology, art and spirituality coexist in a unique and fascinating way.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Discover the Basilica of San Clemente, a unique place where three levels of Roman history overlap in a fascinating journey through time.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(7)
The layers of history here are fascinating. Plus it’s cool and uncrowded! It’s a quick visit but well worthwhile. (Not for anyone with problems walking.)
We were charged for an audio tour but there wasn’t an audio tour. We also had tickets for 1pm but the church closes 12:30-2:00. However, once we got in at 2pm the underground area was really neat-we wish there could’ve been a tour guide for a few bucks. The entire visit took about 30 minutes.
Go to St Clements for some local time travel. The design of 3.50 guide is well worth with its transparency overlays show the different eras of the site. The guide would make Tufte proud. It seems I was suppose to use a voucher to get a ticket, I was expecting someone to do the exchange- no one to be found. I just bought ticket at the ticket booth and count my online purchase a loss. I did get there before my appointed time.
I booked a guided tour and was told the provided was Roots in Rome. The cost was 36 euro for 2 persons. Entry to San Clemente is free and underground church is 20 euro for 2 persons. So the 16 EUR extra was for the guide. The day before the tour (when the payment wax taken) I got a WhatsApp message from the guide saying Do not go to the meeting point for the tour and here is a download audio of your Tour Guide. I could not download the audio at all (tried 10 times) using WiFi. On the day no guide showed up, no audio tour and no answer on WhatsApp or from Viator to my enquiries. Therefore we were basically scammed of 16 EUR for nothing. Do not book tours with Roots in Rome on Viator
Address where we were supposed to meet our guide had a locked gate with an intercom, the woman who answered the intercom hung up on me three times, we never did get a guide, this was an awful first experience using Viator. I hope tomorrow's trip to the Vatican museums goes super smoothly, or I will never use Viator again.
This was a cool experience! We enjoyed walking the underground original church ruins.
Very interesting site, staff were excellent even though our Tripadvisor tickets were a mystery to them.