Rome - Table of Contents .............. Architecture Around the World
2002 photos
Basilica of San Clemente (St. Clement)
Via Labicana, Rome, Italy
Basilica di San Clemente - Official Website
Basilica di San Clemente (Basilica of St. Clement) is an early
Christian basilica in Rome dedicated to Pope St. Clement (d. 99 AD). The church has a beautiful interior, but it is especially notable for its three historical layers. The 12th-century basilica is built on top of a well-preserved 4th-century church (with many frescoes), which was built next to a 3rd-century Mithraic Temple. This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home and site of clandestine Christian worship in the first century to a grand public basilica by the 6th century, reflecting the emerging Roman Catholic Church's growing legitimacy and power.\ - Sacred Destinations (1/2011)
|
Arcaded entrance![]() ![]() Courtyard: Bell tower ...... Pediment ...... Pilasters ...... Scrolled buttresses ![]() Entablature ..... Keystone ..... Pilaster ![]() Ionic capital with volutes ..... Egg-and-dart molding..... Bead-and-ree moldingl Note the smooth Roman shaft (vs. fluted Greek shafts) ![]() Volutes ..... Lotus(?) leaves ..... Fleur-de-lis in center |
![]() The gilded ceiling is from the 18th century ![]() Romanesque Ionic arcade
The historical Pope St. Clement, to whom the church is dedicated,
was the third successor of St. Peter in the See of Rome, and the author
of a famous letter to the Corinthians (96 A.D.). ![]() Chapel ![]() Inlaid marble floor |
See also: San Clemente: A Journey Backwards In Time (Online March 2013)
Photos and their arrangement © 2002 Chuck LaChiusa
| ...Home Page ...| ..Buffalo Architecture Index...| ..Buffalo History Index... .|....E-Mail ...| .