Cities of the Underground - Rome


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Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome
October 2nd 2017
Published: October 5th 2017
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We only had a short walk this morning from our apartment to visit the renowned Basilica of St Clement. It was generally believed that the present Basilica was the one to which St Jerome referred in 392 AD when he wrote that a Church in Rome preserves the memory of St Clement. In 1857, Fr Joseph Mullooly began excavating under the present Basilica, breaking through a small hole to uncover the original fourth century Basilica directly underneath, that had been converted out of the home of a Roman nobleman. Further excavations revealed that part of the Nobleman’s home had in the 1st century, briefly served as an early Christian church.



The Nobleman’s home, being only a few steps from the Colosseum in the very heart of imperial Rome, was the city mansion of Titus Flavius Clemens, Roman Consul and cousin of the Emperor Domitian (81-96 A.D. ). Clemens' wife Flavia Domitilla was an early convert and the family had transferred its home into a clandestine house of prayer, a secret meeting place for the Christian Community. This small community boasted a particularly holy personage, Clement, Clemens' freed Jewish slave, who had worked and preached with Sts. Peter and Paul. Later Clemens himself was martyred, and Flavia, despite this, continued on practising the new Christian faith.



When the basement of Clemens home was excavated, a shrine used by the Mithras Cult was located. The Mithras believed that the "running" of the sun from solstice to solstice is a parallel for the movement of the soul through the universe, from pre-existence, into the body, and then beyond the physical body into an afterlife. As part of their rituals, Mithraic priests would also sacrifice bulls until the blood flowed into troughs, which followers would then scoop out with their arms to bathe in.



Excavations then revealed that the home of the Roman nobleman had been built on the foundations of a Republican era villa and warehouse, that had been destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. It was Nero who blamed the Christians for this fire, causing them to be severely persecuted.



The entrance to the Basilica is unremarkable, and it seems to be just another one of the scores of churches in the city of Rome. As we would our way down the through the various levels of the church, however, it was like descending through a time capsule of history. Some of the earliest Christian frescos in Rome are found in the lower levels of St Clement Church. There was even a functioning spring in the lowest level of the structure, pouring out of a pipe constructed for the original first century dwelling, which provided fresh water for the household. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of our visit to the city of Rome. This was Cities of the Underground (one of my favourite TV shows) live and at it’s best.



Leaving the Basilica of St Clement, we walked past the Colosseum and Palatine Hill, on our way to see the Trevi Fountain, the largest Baroque fountain in Rome and one of the most famous fountains in the world. It was completed in 1762, and the site marks the Acqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 kms from the city. This scene is presented on the fountain's façade. However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 kms. This Aqua Virgo led the water into the Baths of Agrippa and it served Rome for more than 400 years. Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain was not functioning today due to maintenance.



We kept winding our way through the narrow streets and alleyways, stopping to look inside the many churches encountered on our path to the Pantheon. The Pantheon (meaning temple of every god) is a former Roman Temple, now a church, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). The present building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and was probably completed about 126 AD. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It is one of the best-preserved of all ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church dedicated to St Mary and the Martyrs, but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda".



After leaving the Pantheon, we stopped at a cafe for lunch with Liz and Darrol, then continued on our exploration of the city, stopping to look in churches adorned with paintings by famous artists, heading for Castel Sant Angelo. The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel), is a towering cylindrical building initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. The Castel was once the tallest building in Rome. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in 138, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also died in 138. Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here, the last recorded deposition being Caracalla in 217 AD. The Castel has a secret tunnel which runs through to the Vatican, which was used by Pope Clement V11 to hide in the Castel during the siege of Rome by Charles V in 1527.



We continued to explore the castle until closing time, getting panoramic views of the city and the River Tiber from it’s upper walls as a bonus. After exiting the Castel, we followed the River Tiber for some distance, then cut through the Jewish Quarter, checking out some good places to eat, before walking back to our apartment, gaining a night time view of the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.


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