Underground Rome
Underground Rome
Discover the hidden city beneath the modern one. We will start at Basilica San Clemente nicknamed ‘’Lasagne Church’’, a 12th century church with breathtaking mosaics and frescoes dating back to the 4th century. It consists of ‘’three "layers" - three churches constructed one above the other, resting on the remains of earlier Roman habitations. We will begin with exploring the present building from the Medieval period, then descend to a lower church dating back to 4th century. Stepping again one level down we find ourselves in Mithraic temple and Roman palazzo dated back to 1st to 2nd centuries. We now climb up and we are back in the main building to admire once more a luminous 12th century Byzantine mosaic at the far end of the basilica. Next in our itinerary is the Capuchin crypt -beneath Via Veneto –a series of underground chapels, lined with the bones of 3,700 monks. We will visit not only six rooms of this unusual crypt but also the Capuchin Museum. We delve into what it means to be a Capuchin monk. Our last stop are the Catacombs – ‘’ underground city of the dead’’ - where the first Christians were laid to rest. The catacombs are an important aspect of Early Christian art history, contained in both fresco and sculpture, as well as gold glass medallions. We will also visit the area of Via Appia Antica, now a nature and archaeological park.
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