Should I suggest a single spot to visit in Italy...

Should I suggest one single spot to visit in Italy, I’d say the Basilica of S. Clemente in Rome. No doubt. 

So it seems just fair to me to start my blog from there. 

The Basilica shows you the very essence of Rome and, by some extent, of Italy too. We spend our daily lifes surrounded by an environment made of infinite material and cultural layers, deeply blended together, each one of them reminding or teaching us a lesson. Nothing is ever cancelled in Rome. Everything is added in a continuous process of death and rebirth. The Basilica of S. Clemente is the perfect and most fascinating example of it. Its visit is a time travel through Rome’s history and deep in its womb. 

You start at ground level, in the proximity of Coliseum, visiting a magnificent church rich with artwork since 12th to 17th century: mosaics, choir, the wonderful fresco of Masolino. 

But when you reach its right wing, a few steps underground and you are suddenly in the 4th century A.C.. The Basilica has been built over a previous incarnation, destroyed by the Normans leaded by Robert Guiscard in 1084 A.C.. 

After visiting the Lower Basilica, a few more steps down and you discover that it is just another reincarnation: it took the place of the ancient Roman titulus, where the early Christians celebrated their first Masses. But they were not the first ones to worship their divinity here: a few more yards and you are introduced to the temple of the dead oriental god Mithra. 

Again, Mithra was not the first god to inhabit this holy place. We lost the name of the older one, but we can still hear her angry voice, mumbling her disdain for the outrage of being stifled in a narrow conduit to let the tourists roam safely. It is the voice of the Nymph inhabiting the little stream which still runs nowadays between the walls of the Roman mansion. The ancient small waterfall is no longer there, but the flow is still strong. 

Yet the Basilica showcases not only how gods came to Rome to die and leave their holy places to younger and stronger ones. Here you can find also the very first historical evidence of the death of Latin language and its rebirth in the new “vulgar” Italian. It is a fresco in the Lower Basilica and you will learn that the first italian sentence was: “Pull, sons of a bitch!”

There are so many fascinating stories about S. Clemente. They deserve many posts, which will come soon. 

Meanwhile, I hope that I made you curious enough to follow these links and learn something more about the Basilica: http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/, http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-san-clemente.htm.