A Tourist in Rome - San Marco
| Location: | 41.89581, 12.48168 The white building with two stories of three arches across the street from the Victor Emmanuel Monument |
| Metro: | Colosseo, or see it on my To the Forum Boarium and Beyond Walking Tour instead |
| Time: | about 30 minutes (but you should skip it unless you have spare time) |
| Cost: | Free |
| Hours: | 7 AM to noon and 4 PM to 6 PM daily |
Outside the church on the left side of its facade (1st photo below) is a statue of Madama Lucrezia. To be honest, I was not particularly interested in the current-day church, but rather its underground. Having been founded in 336 AD by St. Mark, then pope, the church is one of Rome's oldest. It was rebuilt in during the 5th century and in the 8th century, and in the 13th century. If you ask, someone will open the door to, and let you visit the excavations of earlier churches underneath the present church. I must admit I didn't really understand much about what I was seeing underground. To me with my untrained eye, it looked like an altar at the end of one hallway, and a hallway around the rounded front of a church. This site could definitely benefit from some signs or a single-page handout which explains the underground sites. Until that happens, I can't recommend this site very highly. There are many better underground sites, even free ones, than this one.
