People

Place

1st century
4th century
Present

Art

Tour

Mystery

Place

From about 1300 to 1857 it was accepted that the church of San Clemente, situated near the Colosseum in Rome, was an ancient structure. Indeed, Saint Jerome, in 390, had written of the church of Saint Clement in Rome. It was thus accepted the building visible near the Colosseum was that very same building St. Jerome had mentioned.

It was only in 1857 that the prior of the community, Fr. Joseph Mulooly, started excavations under the church. There the church St. Jerome spoke of was revealed. Further underneath still there were the remains of a first-century building.

Extensive excavations, by Fr. Louis Nolan, took place between 1912 and 1914 . This revealed yet another level under the church, a level which dates back to the fire which raged through Rome under the emperor Nero in 64. The buildings destroyed in that fire were filled in to make a foundation for the later buildings on top.

This section of the site guides you through these various levels.