We walked over to the church of San Clemente to explore some history above and underground. No pictures were permitted which is a shame since it was a very interesting place.
The ground level slowly builds up over the years in Rome and the surrounding areas. This has helped preserve some of the old buildings as they have been shielded from the elements. If you have to walk down a slope into a building, you know it is a really old building.
The church of San Clemente that you can see from the street is a fourteenth century church that is still in use. We walked down a large staircase into a church built in the fourth century that was discovered less than a century ago. It was much less ornate but you could still see frescos and a fancy alter. When the fourth century church’s building was starting to need some repair, they decided to build a new church. They filled in the old church and just built another church on top.
After we explored the second church, we descended into the world of the first century where there we could walk through a house and see the remains of a pagan shrine.
We ate some lunch in the church’s courtyard before checking out Trastevere, a neighbourhood in Rome.
These trees have been here awhile.
We found a great gelato shop. What better way to top some gelato than with some whipped cream and a wafer.
After walking around the city for a bit we headed back home to cook up some fresh pasta and call it a night.