Monti in Roma in Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Latium, Rome, Italy — Central Italy (Tyrrhenian Coast)
Basilica di San Clemente
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Basilica of Saint Clement
Photographed by James Hulse, February 27, 2024
1. Basilica di San Clemente / Basilica of Saint Clement Marker
Architetto: C. S. Fontana (1700 са. -1740)
La primitiva chiesa di S. Clemente fu edificata nel tardo IV sec. nei pressi del Colosseo e delle caserme dei gladiatori, ai margini dell'area monumentale, su un preesistente edificio del II sec. d.C.: si trattava verosimilmente della domus ecclesiae di Clemente (un liberto martirizzato sotto Diocleziano), di cui poi rimase il nome nella dedicazione della chiesa titolare. Le domus ecclesiae erano i luoghi di culto dove si riunivano i fedeli nei primi secoli del Cristianesimo, generalmente identificabili con ambienti di abitazioni private adattati allo scopo. La casa di Clemente era composta da varie sale coperte a volta e da un cortile, in cui nel III sec. fu ricavato un mitreo (costruzione rettangolare con banchi di pietra lungo le pareti ed un altare al centro, consacrata al culto di origine persiana di Mitra). La chiesa edificata nel IV sec., preceduta da un piccolo portico, ripeteva lo schema basilicale a tre navate con terminazione absidale (senza transetto) delle grandi fondazioni costantiniane; fu arricchita da uno splendido apparato pittorico (in parte ancora visibile) all'epoca del pontificato di Leone IV (847-855). In seguito al sacco del Celio da parte delle truppe di Roberto il Guiscardo (1084), l'edificio subì massicci restauri, nell'ambito dei quali furono realizzati muri di rinforzo ed una nuova decorazione pittorica con le Storie del santo titolare e di S. Alessio. Fra il 1099 e il 1118 la chiesa paleocristiana fu sepolta (a circa 5 m dal livello stradale) e su di essa fu eretta la nuova basilica di S. Clemente, dalla quale tuttavia è ancora possibile accedere all'edificio inferiore. Il nuovo tempio, preceduto da un cortile di acceso con quadriportico, ripropose in scala minore il sottostante atrio e ricalcò grosso modo la planimetria della chiesa inferiore: una navata centrale a terminazione absidale, affiancata da navate più strette scandite da colonne antiche a sostegno di arcate; successivamente furono aggiunte due absidi minori ai lati dell'abside centrale (a chiudere le navate laterali) e furono realizzati i massicci corpi di fabbrica laterali, destinati ad alloggiare i Canonici Regolari. Alla semplicità dell'impianto basilicale si contrappone la sontuosità degli arredi e della decorazione: nella nave centrale spiccano la schola cantorum con gli amboni, la cattedra ed i plutei delle recinzioni riccamente scolpiti (realizzati con elementi tratti dagli arredi del IV sec.), il pavimento cosmatesco, ma soprattutto il luminoso mosaico del catino absidale. Esso raffigura un folto cespo di acanto da cui si innalza la Croce affiancata dalla Madonna e da S. Giovanni Battista, interamente circondati dalle volute che fuoriescono dal motivo centrale, su uno scintillante fondale dorato; in basso sono disseminati animali e piante, l'arco absidale è ornato da riquadri con scene bibliche e dai simboli degli Evangelisti, secondo uno schema complesso in cui si fondono elementi antichi e novità iconografiche. Alla metà del Quattrocento fu costruita la cappella di S. Caterina, unitamente a sporadici interventi pittorici, e, alla fine del secolo successivo, dovette essere demolito parte del convento per l'apertura della nuova strada di S. Giovanni in Laterano. L'aspetto attuale del complesso di S. Clemente, che consente tuttavia di cogliere in pieno l'impianto romanico della basilica, si deve infine all'intervento operato tra il 1713 e il 1719 da Carlo Stefano Fontana. Questi -nipote ed allievo di Carlo Fontana, l'ultimo grande architetto del Seicento romano- alleggeri la massiccia struttura del XII sec. con i ricchi soffitti lignei e con una decorazione a stucchi di derivazione borrominiana, con cui contrastano vivacemente il mosaico dell'abside e la decorazione pittorica che, nell'arco del XVIII sec., arricchì ulteriormente la basilica.
Didascalie
(Foto #1) Pianta della Basilica inferiore
(Foto #2) Planta della Basilica superiore
(Foto #3) Prospetto
Architect: C. S. Fontana (c. 1700 - 1740)
The early Church of St. Clement was built in the late Vincent, near the Colosseum and the gladiators barracks, at the edge of the monumental area, over a pre-existing building of the IInd cent. A.D., thought to have been the domus ecclesiae of Clemente (a freedman who was martyred during Diocletian's rule) whose name remained in the church later built there. The domus ecclesiae were places of worship where believers met in the early years of Christianity, and were usually private houses converted to suit this purpose. The house of Clemente consisted of several vaulted rooms and a large courtyard, where in the IIIrd cent. there stood a mythraic sanctuary (a rectangular structure with stone benches along the walls and an altar in the middle for Mythraic worship, a cult of Persian origin). The church was built in the IVth cent. with a small portico in front, to a basilical pattern with three naves and end apse and no transept, as in the great churches of Constantine; it was embellished with a splendid cycle of paintings (still partly visible) executed during the Papal reign of Leo IVth (847-855). After the Sacking of the Celio by the troops of Roberto il Guiscardo (1084), the church underwent major restoration: reinforcement walls were built and new paintings executed, depicting Stories from the Life of the Church Saint and of St. Alessio. Between 1099 and 1118 the early Christian church was covered in (about 5m. below street level) and the new Basilica of St. Clement was built over the top, though the building below may still be visited. The new church has a courtyard in front and a four-arched portico which is a scaled-down version of the sealed-in atrium below. The new church layout is practically a copy of the one below: a central nave with end apse, and narrower side naves interspersed with antique columns holding up arches; two small apses were added later to the sides of the central apse (rounding off the side naves) and huge structures were built alongside to house ordinary priests. The basilical layout is strikingly plain compared with the sumptuous furnishings and décor: the central nave contains a schola cantorum with bow wings, a pulpit and richly sculpted pew ends (recycled from IVth cent. furnishings), a cosmic floor, and above all a bright mosaic in the apse bay. Here, a Cross emerges from a leafy acanthus bush with the Madonna and St. John the Baptist nearby, entirely surrounded by volutes springing from the central motif against a glittering golden background; animals and plants are scattered in the spaces below and the apse arch is adorned with individual scenes from the Bible and the symbols of the Evangelists, according to a complex scheme that combines ancient elements with new iconographic material. In the mid-XVth cent., the Chapel of St. Catherine was built, and paintings were added here and there, and in the late XVIth cent. part of the monastery had to be demolished to make way for a new road to St. John's in the Lateran. The Romanesque basilical layout is still fully appreciable, but St. Clement's owes its present appearance to work carried out between 1713 and 1719 by Carlo Stefano Fontana, a nephew and pupil of Carlo Fontana, the last great architect of the XVIIth cent. in Rome. He lightened the massive XIIth cent. tone with intricate wooden ceilings and Borromini-style stucco decorations, in lively contrast to the apse mosaics and other pictorial works introduced to the basilica during the XVIIIth cent.
Captions
(Photo #1) Plan of the Lower Basilica
(Photo #2) Plan of the Upper Basilica
(Photo #3) Elevation
Erected by Ministry
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures.
Location. 41° 53.352′ N, 12° 29.854′ E. Marker is in Roma, Lazio (Latium, Rome), in Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale. It is in Monti. It is at the intersection of Via di San Giovanni in Laterano and Piazza di S. Clemente, on the left when traveling east on Via di San Giovanni in Laterano. The marker is located on the south side of the Basilica. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Via di S Giovanni in Laterano 112, Roma, Lazio 00184, Italy. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, the Schengen Area, a coastal Mediterranean country, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the
Photographed by James Hulse, February 27, 2024
2. The side entrance to the Basilica of Saint Clement and Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ezio Lombardi and Edmondo Fondi (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Hotel Palazzo Manfredi (about 180 meters away); Ludus Magnus / Great Training School (about 210 meters away); Ludus Magnus / Great Training Arena (about 240 meters away); I Cippi Perimetrali / The Perimeter Cippi (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Monti (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Lo Sperone Stern / The Stern Spur (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); L'Amphitheatrum Flavium / The Flavian Amphitheater (approx. 0.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roma.
Also see . . . San Clemente al Laterano. Wikipedia
This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home that was the site of clandestine Christian worship in the 1st century to a grand public basilica by the 6th century, reflecting the emerging Catholic Church's growing legitimacy and power. The archaeological traces of the basilica's history were discovered in the 1860s by Joseph Mullooly, Prior of the(Submitted on February 24, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)house of Irish Dominicans at San Clemente (1847–1880).Photographed by James Hulse, February 27, 20243. The front entrance to the Basilica of Saint Clement
Photographed by James Hulse, February 27, 2024
4. The inner courtyard and second entrance to the Basilica of Saint Clement
Photographed by James Hulse, February 27, 2024
5. The interior of the Basilica of Saint Clement
Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 20, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 153 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 24, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
