Yes Hotel Rome Travel Blog: The Rome travel guide

After visiting the Colosseum, nearby there’s another attraction not to miss: the basilica of San Clemente. It’s much more than the current church which goes back to the Middle Ages: below there are several levels of ancient constructions, oldest of which are of the first century AD.

The site has experienced several phases of which different architectural levels have been conserved up to our days: in the 2nd century more building work took place, and a beautiful and spacious private residence was constructed. About 100 years later, a part of this building was transformed into a sanctuary of the divinity Mitra, whose cult was getting more and more popular in Rome at that time, especially amongst the army. During this phase an altar was built, and the sanctuary was transformed to look like the interior of a cave. The cult of Mitra was practised actively here at least until the beginning of the 4th century, and at some point after that the temple seems to have been intentionally destroyed in order to transform it into a Christian church towards the end of the 4th century. In the Middle Ages, in 1084, it was destroyed by the Normans.

The current basilica, only slightly lower than the street level, was constructed in 1108 by the Pope Pasquale II on top of the earlier layers, which at that time remained covered. The medieval basilica, adorned by amazingly beautiful and sumptuous mosaics, was restored in the beginning of the 18th century. The ancient layers were uncovered only in the 1857, and can now be visited with a guide.

The basilica is located just a short walk from the Colosseum, in Via Labicana 95. You can book a guided visit to the underground layers either by e-mail or by phone: 0039 06 8530 1758. You can also attend without reservation, especially in low season. To get there for example from the Termini station, take the metro line B. To be able to move around the city easily, be sure to book a central hotel, such as the hotel Carlito’s Way or the Nice Hotel, located in the Termini neighbourhood.

Rome has such a multitude of historical and archeaological attractions to offer, that it’s quite difficult to decide which to go see, besides the most obvious ones such as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Pantheon and Piazza Navona… Don’t forget that the local history is more than just the ancient Roman Empire: there was a highly developed civilisation in the region of Lazio much before the Romans: the mysterious Etruscans!

What do you really know of the Etruscans? Maybe not all that much..? Well, then the place to go, when in Rome, is the Museo Etrusco of Villa Giulia, which houses many of the most significant archaeological findings on Etruscans.

Some of the most precious and interesting objects of the museum are the bilingual (Etruscan-phoenician) golden plates with an inscription dedicated to a goddess. Other main attractions are the contents of the so-called “Warrior’s tombâ€? (from the 6th century BC), the “Sarcophagus of the Spousesâ€? – a magnificent statue discovered in the Etruscan necropolis of Cerveteri and the famous statue of Apollo, the “Apollo of Veiiâ€?. This statue of the 6th century BC, representing Apollo with the tipical mysterious “Etruscan smile” on his lips used to adorn a temple in the Etruscan city of Veii and it is considered the greatest piece of Etruscan art conserved to our days.

The building itself is another object of interest: it was constructed in the 16th century for the humanist pope Julius III with the participance of for example Giorgio Vasari and Michelangelo and is a beautiful example of the manieristic architecture.

The museum of Villa Giulia is located in the area of Valle Giulia, and to get there you can take the trams 3 (from Trastevere or the metro B stops of “Colosseo� or “Piramide�) or the tram number 19 from Porta Maggiore. For additional information on the museum or to book your tickets on line, you can use the “Ticketeria�-service. At the museum you can rent an acoustic guide for an additional fee. Reduced tickets are available to European Union citicens under 25 years of age.

For more tourist information and hotel or tour reservations try this site.