Archbasilica of St. John Lateran
The Lateran basilica is the oldest and highest-ranking church in the West: the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. An inscription on its façade calls it “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.” The Emperor Constantine gave the Lateran palace to the Church, and Pope Sylvester I dedicated the basilica around 324 to Christ the Saviour. Later it was dedicated also to Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. The whole Church celebrates the feast of its dedication on 9 November.
For a thousand years the popes lived in the Lateran palace, and five ecumenical councils were held here. The basilica has been damaged by earthquake and fire and rebuilt many times. In the 1640s Francesco Borromini remodelled the interior, and in 1735 Alessandro Galilei added the great façade crowned by colossal statues of Christ and the saints.
The papal altar holds a wooden table venerated as one used by Saint Peter. The Pope’s cathedra stands in the apse. Across the square are the Scala Sancta and the Lateran Baptistery, the oldest in Rome.
- Built
- Founded 324; interior rebuilt 1646–1650; façade 1735
- Style
- Early Christian, Baroque
- Where
- Rome, Italy
- Map
- Find it on OpenStreetMap
- Read about
- The Scala Sancta