Puglia day 14: After a five-hour bus trip from Matera to Rome, Sylvie and I got out for one last walking tour of Rome. This time, we were off to see the Basilica of San Clemente. It was recommended to us when we visited the Basilica of Saint Anastasia on the Palatine.
The unique feature of San Clemente is the building's history. It started out (O AD?) as possibly a mint for the Roman Empire. It burnt down in 64AD (level -2 using Italiation numbering). This was filled in during the 4th century, A.D., and a basilica was built on top of this (level -1). In the eleventh century, this Basilica was filled in, and the present structure was built on top of that (level 0, also known as the "ground" floor). All of the fill has now been removed, allowing one to tour the previous two structures.
Like many sites in Rome, you need tickets with a time slot. Since it wasn't busy, we got the next available slot. The tickets were ten Euros each. Neither Sylvie nor I felt that we got our money's worth. I guess we aren't archaeologists.
We then wandered past the Colosseum and back up to the hotel with a couple of last-minute shopping stops and supper along the way. I picked up an XXL apron.
Perhaps Italy was sad to see us leave, because it rained while we enjoyed our supper on the street, under a canopy. It reminded us of our time in Zagreb. However, unlike Zagreb, we didn't get soaked after we finished eating supper.
We then walked back to the hotel. I stopped and got an apron. XXL. Sylvie checked out a couple of leather shops. It was sprinkling a bit. We found a pizza place after shopping. We ate there. I poured. It reminded us of our time in Zagreb.