The present church of San Clemente was constructed to replace the Early Christian basilica from the 4th century. It was built by the cardinal and priest of San Clemente, Anastasius, who is documented between 1102 and 1125, and it rises above its predecessors's centre and left side aisles. The structure was completed and consecrated around 1118-19. The mosaic decoration of the apse is generally dated to this time. However, recent studies suggest a a considerably later date in the 1130s.

The mosaic in San Clemente was the first great apse mosaic to have been produced in Rome in roughly two hundred years. It incorporated any number of familiar motifs from Early Christian mosaics, but combined them with distinctly medieval pictorial elements to create a new synthesis.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	Interior view 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Overall view of the apse 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Overall view of the apse 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Overall view of the apse 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apsidal arch (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apsidal arch (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome
	Apse mosaic (detail) 1130s Mosaic San Clemente, Rome