For the first time, members of the residential community, Lay Centre staff and friends, joined together in a speleological adventure in the heart of Rome: a visit to the underground lakes of the temple of Claudius, which are just beneath the ancient Passionist grounds where The Lay Centre is located.

In 54 AD the emperor Claudius died, perhaps poisoned by a dish of mushrooms prepared by his wife, and was honored through the dedication, on the Caelian hill, of a temple, built on a podium of gigantic dimensions (180 x 200 metres), the “Tempio del Divo Claudio.” Below this monumental platform today there is a large underground area where it is possible to admire two small artificial lakes.

Tunnels dug over the centuries, particularly in the medieval period, to extract minerals from beneath the temple ruins, produced a hidden, parallel world that we had not yet discovered. The analysis of this very blue water revealed its bacteriological purity, however the origin of these lakes, whose level varies significantly throughout the year, is still unknown.

The area of the Basilica of Saints John and Paul, built in the 4th-5th century near the ruins of the ancient temple of Divus Claudius extends under the Roman building. The visit led us to venture into this very place and somehow connect with those who lived there or passed by before us.