St. Clement's Basilica Underground Tour: Unveil Early-Christian Frescoes and Pagan Cults

Uncover the hidden secrets of St. Clement’s Basilica on an underground tour. Discover ancient frescoes, pagan cults, and early-Christian legends in this mystical experience near the Colosseum.

Duration: 1 hour
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Touriks - This is your meeting point. Here you will check in, have a seat if you prefer, benefit WiFi internet access and use the toilet.
    Here you will meet your guide and head towards Rome’s best-kept secret, St Clement’s Basilica. Get ready to go back in time down to the deepest point 14 meters underground, then gradually explore the different…
What's Included
  • Sterilized headsets to hear your guide clearly
  • Underground entrance ticket
  • Luggage deposit in our office for the duration of the tour
  • All fees and/or taxes
  • Full on-site assistance
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Embark on an unexpected experience a stone’s throw from the Colosseum: venture 14 meters below St Clement’s Basilica and immerse yourself into a mystical world of forgotten pagan cults and early-Christian legends and frescoes. Live the excitement of gradually exploring the different structures built on top of each other during the centuries on your way…

Location
Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 132
Via di San Giovanni in Laterano
Meet at the TouriksPoint at Via di San Giovanni in Laterano 132, 15 meters from the Basilica of St. Clement. Please arrive 5 minutes before the starting time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(13 Ratings)
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Melina_j
Jun 30, 2024
Lesser know gem! - Super interesting tour. Seeing the layers of Rome was very cool. Tour guide was great and even my 9 year old thought it was cool
Review provided by Viator
Steveinparker
May 4, 2024
Rome Underground temples and basilicas - We had a fascinating tour with Paul of the Underground Temples and Proto-Christian Basilicas that culminated at Basilica of San Clemente which is an absolute history lesson of itself. Before arrive at San Clemente, Paul took us on a walking tour to see evidences of ancient Rome hidden all around the city. Small evidences here and there of ancient remnants used even in this day. Paul (an American) is an archeologist but his strength for this tour is his encyclopedic knowledge of ancient history, both secular and religious. He seems to possess a deep faith in the Catholic tradition which allowed us to see the relics and layers of history through his personal faith lens. Just fascinating!! The layers of San Clemente are so revealing. The current church from the 1200s actually has the choir of the 400s church in use today. Below the current church, is the 400s church below which is the 100s Mithraic temple. All of which you can walk amidst as you descend through the layers. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
485maximilianw
Apr 29, 2024
Worthwhile beautiful church with impressive historical element - Our tour was extremely interesting and worthwhile. Our guide was knowledgeable and gave us a lot of good historical facts and context. The church is beautiful and worth seeing by itself, but the levels underneath were incredibly cool.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maria_m
Mar 12, 2024
San Clemente is a... - San Clemente is a beautiful church with an amazing underground. The guide was exceptional. I was very impressed with his knowledge.
Review provided by Viator
Julie_k
Oct 14, 2023
Great experience underground! - We had a very personal tour of the underground temple of the Basilica. We learned a lot and it was much better than trying on our own!
Review provided by Viator
J3545onelizabethm
Jul 22, 2023
Great - Very interesting and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. We took the English Tour and our guide was American, so that was fun talking about some of the differences.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeremy_r
Jul 2, 2023
Fantastic guide and amazing experience - St. Clement's Basilica is a hidden gem, and much more accessible than many of the over-the-top sites around Rome. And the guide's enthusiasm for the the history was genuine and infectioous.
Review provided by Viator
Steven_b
Jun 28, 2023
This is a hidden gem for history buffs! - To see that many layers of Roman history in one place was amazing. To be able to see the changes in architecture over the span of thousands of years was amazing!!
Review provided by Viator
Michael_l
Jun 15, 2022
Incredible! - Daniele V is an incredible guide at this amazing historic site. Daniele’s passion, enthusiasm and knowledge bring the site to life. It is clear that Daniele loves what he does! Our 25 year old son who travelled to be with us and is not as ‘into’ history as ourselves was transfixed! Thank you for being our guide to this wonderful piece of history - an absolute highlight of our trip to Rome!
Review provided by Viator
Paige_d
May 19, 2022
Fascinating - We were only two in tour so it became private. Very informative. No pictures allowed. So fascinating to see different levels of civilization. Nice and cool on a hot day, also.
Review provided by Viator
From $61
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).