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"San Clemente": Rome's layer-cake church
 One of Rome's most famous underground sites is
under the church, San Clemente. San Clemente is about halfway between the
Colosseum and the basilica called Saint John in Lateran. In 1857, the
Domincan Friar Mullouly who lived in the monastery at San Clemente (or
Saint Clement) followed a hunch and started excavating beneath the "modern"
church, which dates to the 1200s. He was rewarded with one of the most
interesting discoveries of his time: there was beneath the existing church
an early Christian basilica dating to sometime around 350 A.D. Mullouly
continued digging, inspired by his enormous successes, and discovered yet
another, more ancient, layer which dates to the first century A.D.
 This layer contains a Mithraeum, or a chamber
outfitted for the adoration of the ancient Persian god of light and
justice, Mithra, whose cult Roman soldiers had brought back home.
All three levels can be visited and each level has something special to
offer. The lowest level, dating to the 1st century A.D., not only teaches
us about Mithraeism, it is also a marvelous source of information on
architecture and building laws in early Imperial Rome. The intermediate
layer, which dates to the 4th century, boasts one of Rome's older Christian
churches and is mentioned by Saint Jerome (d. 420 A.D.) in his letters.
The church was also redecorated with fabulous frescoes in the 1100s thanks
to a rich donor, Maria Macellaria or Mary the Butcher. Many of these
frescoes can still be seen and appreciated. The top layer is fascinating,
too. The lower church had to be rebuilt and in the 1200s this new church
took its place and covered it over. Although heavily rebuilt over the
centuries, bits and pieces of the late Medieval basilica can still be
admired. Perhaps the apse, enriched with mosaics from that century is one
of Rome's loveliest.
The two sites, San Clemente and the Domus Aurea can be visited together on the same day or be seen separately.
The entrance ticket to the Domus Aurea costs € 6.50 and is booked in advance.
The entrance ticket to the underground sites of San Clemente is € 3
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