From this narthex three doorways generally opened into the church, corresponding with the three aisles; and if the building possessed a font, it ought to have been placed in one of the chapels on either the right or the left hand of the principal entrance.
The choir, with its two pulpits, is shown in the plan—that on the left-hand side being the pulpit of the Epistle, that on the right of the Gospel. The railing of the bema or presbytery is also marked, so is the position of the altar with its canopy supported on four pillars, and behind that the throne of the bishop, with the seats of the inferior clergy surrounding the apse on either side.
Besides the church of San Clemente there are at least thirty other basilican churches in Rome, extending in date from the 4th to the 14th century. Their names and dates, as far as they have been ascertained, are set forth in the accompanying list, which, though not altogether complete, is still the best we possess, and is sufficient for our present purpose.[1]
BASILICAS OF ROME.
FOURTH CENTURY.
St. Peter's Constantine (5 aisled) about 330
San Giovanni Laterano Ditto founded 333?
St. Paul's Theodosius and Honorius (5 aisled) 386
Sta. Pudentiana 335?
FIFTH CENTURY.
Sta. Sabina Pope Celestine about 425
Sta. Maria Maggiore Pope Sixtus III. 432
St. Pietro ad Vincula Eudoxis (Greek Doric pillars) 442
SIXTH CENTURY.
San Lorenzo (old part) Pope Pelagius (galleries) 580
Sta. Balbina Gregory the Great (no side-aisles) 600
SEVENTH CENTURY.
Sta. Agnese Honorius I. (galleries) 625
Quatro Coronati Honorius I 625
St. Giorgio in Velabro Leo II 682
San Chrisogono Gregory III. 625
EIGHTH CENTURY
S. Giovanna a porta Patina Adrian I. 790?
S. Maria in Cosmedin 790?
S. Vincenzo alle Tre Fontane 790
S. Lorenzo (nave) about 790?
- ↑ It is copied, with slight alterations, from the work of the Chevalier Bunsen on the Roman Basilicas, which, with the illustrations of Gutensohn and Knapp, forms by far the best work on the subject that has yet been given to the world; though some of the dates assigned to the buildings are still matters of dispute, but not to any material extent. Those here given generally refer to the building now existing or known, and not always to the original foundation.
