16/11/2025
🌟 Tomorrow in Rome – Monday, 17 November 🌟
🏺 Hidden Rome, Day XX — The Underground Gods
Beneath the streets of modern Rome, ancient faiths still whisper — and the dust of temples clings softly to time.
🌅 Morning – The Temple Beneath the Basilica
Begin your morning at the Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano, one of the most extraordinary journeys through time in all of Rome. Beneath the church lies another church from the 4th century — and beneath that, the remains of a pagan temple dedicated to Mithras, the god of light born in darkness. Descend through the centuries, and listen — you can still hear the echo of running water from the ancient spring that fed the rites.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8890,12.4982
☕ Morning Coffee Nearby
After resurfacing, stop at Caffè Clemente (Via San Giovanni in Laterano 126). Sit outside and let the sunlight cleanse the chill of the crypt from your bones.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8887,12.4986
☀️ Afternoon – The Forgotten Temple of Mercury
From there, head to San Martino ai Monti, a quiet church that hides the ruins of an even older sanctuary beneath it — the Titulus Equitii, and the remains of a hall dedicated to the god Mercury. Dim corridors, Roman brick, and faint traces of mosaics still cling to the walls like memories. Few visitors ever wander here.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8917,12.4970
🍝 Lunch Nearby
Lunch at Trattoria Luzzi (Via di San Giovanni in Laterano 88), one of those places where the food is as Roman as the waiters’ humor. Order amatriciana and a glass of house red.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8896,12.4989
🌙 Evening – The God of Time’s Door
As sunset falls, walk to the Bocca della Verità. Most know it as the “Mouth of Truth,” but it was once a cover for a Roman drain — and before that, perhaps the face of a forgotten river god. Across the square stand the Temples of Hercules and Portunus, two of the best-preserved in the world, glowing like amber in the fading light.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8889,12.4828
🍷 Aperitivo Nearby
Stop at Ristorante Antico Forno Roscioli (Piazza Campitelli 18) for a glass of white and some Roman antipasti. The ancient portico nearby hums faintly at night.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8923,12.4820
🎶 Night – The River and the Flame
End your day by walking toward the Tiber Island, once home to a temple of Aesculapius, god of healing. The water murmurs like a prayer, and the lights of Trastevere shimmer across the surface. This is where myth and medicine once met — and maybe still do.
🍽️ Dinner
Dine at Da Giggetto al Portico d’Ottavia (Via del Portico d’Ottavia 21/a) — the best of the Roman-Jewish kitchen: fried artichokes, salt cod, and stories from another century.
📍 https://www.google.com/maps?q=41.8931,12.4776
✨ Comment below if you explore one of these places—Rome is best when shared.
🔗 Check out my other channel:
Chronicles Of Rome – https://www.facebook.com/chroniclesofrome/
🌙 Rome never buries her gods — she simply builds new dreams above them.
