Basilica Cattedrale di San Clemente I Papa e Martire

Velletri's Cathedral of San Clemente has a long history of worship, from a traditional fourth-century foundation on the site of a Roman temple of Mars to the Baroque church rebuilt in the seventeenth century. A Renaissance portal, medieval crypt and relics of Saints Eleuterio and Ponziano preserve earlier layers.

Why it matters

San Clemente is the cathedral of the suburbicarian see of Velletri-Segni. Tradition places the first Christian church here in the fourth century, on the site of a temple dedicated to Mars. A thirteenth-century rebuilding added an underground chapel associated with the relics of Saints Eleuterio and Ponziano. The cathedral was rebuilt between 1659 and 1662; Pope Pius VII granted it the title of minor basilica in 1804.

What to notice

The Renaissance portal of 1512, carved by Trojano di Palestrina, is an older feature retained in the Baroque rebuilding. Inside, three naves lead to the high altar, above which a Cosmatesque-style aedicule recalls medieval Roman marble work. The apse retains fourteenth-century frescoes, alongside later mosaics. The Chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie holds a venerated medieval icon; a fresco of the Madonna with four saints, painted in 1483, decorates the portal to the sacristy. The crypt contains medieval fresco fragments and the reliquary chapel of the two saints.

Context and history

The church is dedicated to Clement I, traditionally regarded as the evangelizer of Velletri. A thirteenth-century reconstruction reoriented the building and added the underground chapel. After the medieval church was destroyed, the present cathedral was rebuilt between 1659 and 1662. Later work included repairs following war damage and renovations to the apse. Velletri celebrates its patron Saint Clement on 23 November.