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Rome travel guide, vacation in Rome, holiday in Rome, tour of Rome, tourism Rome, booking hotel in Rome, rent a car Rome, fly to Rome, Incoming Rome, Wedding in Rome, Weather Rome, Images Rome |
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St. John Lateran
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The Public Square of St. John Lateran, adorned by an obelisk of the 15th century b.C., is surrounded by huge monuments: the Baptistry, the Palazzo Laterano and, above all, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome and official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope, because it contains the papal throne, and so it ranks above all other churches in the Roman Catholic Church, even above St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
It is the most ancient church, but has been destroyed and reconstructed many times; today it is a basilica with five naves. The huge façade, with the two bell towers, is characterized by the 15 statues of Christ surrounded by Saints.
Through the porch and the five doors (among which there are the original doors of the Palace of the Senate of the Roman Forum) we can reach the interior of the Basilica. Here precious works of art are conserved, among which the wooden ceiling and the refined pavement with mosaic, the reliquiary containung the skulls of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
Not to lose: the tomb of Pope Silvester II, from where, according to a legend, the water seeps when the death of the Pope is near, and the Santa Scala (Holy Steps). Still today the complex of Saint Giovanni in Laterano is considered the church Caput et mater omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis that is the mother church of the whole inhabited world.
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