In San Clemente’s Venerable Halls

The minor basilica of San Clemente rests in a valley between the Caelian and Oppian Hills. Underneath the twelfth-century building is buried an ancient fourth-century church, mentioned by St. Jerome in 390 A.D. Lower down is a first-century A.D. Roman patrician's house, as the entire site was once owned by the family of Titus Flavius Clemens. In 95 A.D. Clemens was martyred for refusing to participate in cult worship of the Roman emperor, instead professing belief in the monotheism of Christianity. At least one room in Clemens' household remained in use for Christian worship, but after the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. it became safe to dedicate the entire lot to a church in the name of Pope Clement, the third successor of St. Peter.