An Ambitious Vision

The restoration and historical preservation of the Basilica of San Clemente will be completed in three phases.
PHASE ONE comprises a complete interior restoration of the ground-level 12th century basilica.
PHASE TWO includes substantial archaeological excavations in the subterranean levels to create better visitor flow and open up space for a prelude antechamber to present the story of San Clemente.
PHASE THREE consists of the creation of the curated museum experience in the underground levels, as well as the development of an interactive app for a fully integrated private tour of the entire complex.
The meaningful increase in visitors expected to come from creating a curated museum experience will help bolster cash flows necessary to cover future extraordinary maintenance and preservation costs in perpetuity.
Over the centuries, renowned artists and thinkers, including G.K. Chesterton and Leo Tolstoy, have found San Clemente to be a place of beauty that opens minds and hearts to encounter the truth and love of God.
San Clemente’s famous apse mosaic of the Tree of Life, the Basilica’s most precious piece of artistic patrimony, inspired Pope Benedict XVI to write “The biblical saying that love is stronger than death can be seen here.
Pain is overcome. Nothing of wrath, of bitterness, of accusation lies in the picture.”
The Tree of Life mosaic gleams above the altar, its branches bursting forth from the Cross, enveloping all of creation.
The mosaic is a symbol for the Basilica itself.
The first century foundations of San Clemente are the roots of the churches that rise above them, manifesting in stone, brick and mortar the meaning of the Tree of Life: new life in Christ springs forth from the darkness of human sin and weakness.