story of art. The apse is of later date,
reconstructed by Paschal I. in 818.

[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Section of the Basilica of St Paul, Rome.]

[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Section of Basilica of S. Agnese at Rome.]

Of the remaining Roman basilicas that of S. Sabina on the Aventine is of
special interest as its interior, dating from about A.D. 430, has preserved
more of the primitive aspect than any other. Its carved wooden doors of
early Christian date are of unique value, and in the spandrils of its inner
arcades, upborne by splendid antique Corinthian columns, are some good
specimens of _opus sectile_ or mosaic of cut marble. The ancient roof is an
open one. The basilicas of S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura and S. Agnese deserve
particular notice, as exhibiting galleries corresponding to those of the
civil basilicas and to the later triforium, carried above the aisles and
returned across the entrance end. It is doubtful, however, whether these
galleries are part of the original schemes. The architectural history of S.
Lorenzo's is curious. When originally constructed in A.D. 432, it consisted
of a short nave of six bays, with an internal narthex the whole height of
the building. In the 13th century Honorius III. disorientated the church by
pulling down the apse and erecting a nave of twelve bays on its site and
beyond it, thus converting the original nave into a square-ended choir, the
level being much raised, and the magnificent Corinthian columns half
buried. As a consequence of the church being thus shifted completely round,
the face of the arch of triumph, turned away from the present entrance, but
towards the original one, is invested with the usual mosaics (Agincourt,
pl. xxviii. Nos. 29, 30, 31). The basilica of S. Agnese, of which we give a
section (fig. 14), is a small but interesting building, much like what S.
Lorenzo must have been before it was altered.

[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Plan of Basilica of S. Clemente in Rome.

1. Porch. 2. Atrium. 3. Nave. 4. Aisle for men. 5. Aisle for women. 6.
Chorus cantorum. 7. Altar. 8. Gospel-ambo. 9. Epistle-ambo. 10. Confessio.
11. Bishop's throne.]

Though inferior in size, and later in date than most of the basilicas
already mentioned, that of S. Clemente is not surpassed in interest by any
one of them. This is due to its having retained its original ritual
arrangements and church-fittings more perfectly than any other. These
fittings have been removed from the earlier c