As you walk through Rome you will see reminders of its past everywhere, but if you go underground you will see even more ancient Roman ruins. One of the best places to explore below street level is the Basilica of San Clemente, near the Roman Colosseum.
Basilica of San Clemente and Altar Mitraico:
We did the Small Group Catacombs Tour with The Roman Guy, which begins at the 12th century Basilica of San Clemente and takes an in-depth look at the layers of history beneath the church, as well as a short tour of the frescoes and mosaics in the current basilica. Our guide, who was very knowledgeable about Roman history and the Catholic religion, gave an excellent tour that was academic but interesting and entertaining. While you can visit the ruins without a guide, which I did, I found it much more interesting to have his explanations and he pointed out things that I had not seen on my own.
Below the current church is the original 4th century basilica, which was decorated with beautiful frescoes throughout the centuries in use, some depicting scenes from the life of Saint Clement. Also in the 4th century basilica are the tomb of St. Cyril and a marble sarcophagus.
Going down a staircase from the 1st century we reach the lower level where there are remains of Roman buildings from the 1st century, one that was probably a commercial building and another an apartment block. Part of the apartment building was modified for use in the following century by followers of the Mithraic cult that flourished in Rome until it was outlawed in 395. There is a chamber with a 2nd century altar to Mithras next to a room that was the Mithraic school. Our guide gave us an interesting overview of this mysterious ancient religion.
Via Appia and Catacomb:
After our tour of the church, we were picked up in a mini van and taken to Via Appia Antica , the ancient Appian Way. We enter the first century again with a tour of the Catacomb of Domitilla , the oldest and one of the best preserved Roman catacombs.
Our guide took us through part of the tomb maze, explaining the burials and talking about some of the people who were buried in this catacomb. We also saw some very interesting fresco remains that included an early depiction of Jesus Christ, different from what we imagine today.
The catacombs can only be visited on a guided tour and while some excursions can be booked directly at a catacomb ticket office, these can be large groups and do not always have an English-speaking guide. Because this tour has a maximum size of 12 I found it much more enjoyable than the standard large group tour I had taken in a different Appian Way catacomb a few years ago. I could easily hear and see everything while our guide was guiding us and he was able to answer our questions and explain things that we did not understand.
After the visit to the catacomb, we walked a small part of the Appian Way, the ancient path built by the Romans, and learned about its history before being transported back to Rome.
I highly recommend the San Clemente and Catacomb tour by The Roman Guy. Our guide was excellent and gave us a unique insight into ancient Roman culture and the underground remains of Rome.
Tours with the Roman boy:
- Catacombs for small groups Tour details
- Colosseum tour from top to bottom
- Before or after hours Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums
As is common in the travel industry, the writer received a free tour for review purposes. While you have not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.
