Underground Rome: Saint Clement's and Roman Houses Private Tour

About this tour

Descend beneath Rome's streets to witness four centuries of layered history at the Basilica of Saint Clement. Your guide leads you from the 12th-century church down through medieval levels to a 1st-century pagan temple dedicated to Mithras, revealing how the city's ground has risen over two millennia. Located steps from the Colosseum, this archaeological site offers a visceral sense of Rome's continuous transformation and the cults that captivated soldiers and gladiators during the empire's height.

Highlights

• Walk through three distinct historical periods vertically stacked
• View a rare intact Mithraic temple beneath street level
• Hear accounts of Robert Guiscard's medieval siege and destruction
• Understand how Rome's streets rose 30 feet over centuries
• Explore a 4th-century basilica built atop ancient foundations
• Short walk from the Colosseum and Roman Forum sites

What to expect

You'll start in the upper basilica, a 12th-century structure built to honour Saint Clement, Rome's fourth pope. Your guide explains the Norman invasion that buried the original church. Then comes the descent: moving down, you enter earlier levels where archaeological layers reveal a 4th-century basilica, and finally, you reach the 1st-century pagan temple. Here, stone altars and frescoes still mark where followers of the Persian god Mithras gathered in secret. The experience is less crowded spectacle, more intimate archaeological journey—seeing actual evidence of how settlements rebuild atop their predecessors.

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