S. Giovanni in Laterano

San Giovanni isn't necessarily top of the tourist trail in Rome. This is probably because of it's location. It isn't as central as most of the other attractions and is certainly the reason I didn't venture out to San Giovanni until my fourth or fifth visit to Rome, but I am sorry I left it so long!

San Giovanni was Rome's first church, and indeed, is still Rome's cathedral, predating St Peter's, perhaps surprisingly. It was built ...
...statue stands, impressively, in the forecourt. Of course the Cathedral, having survived a number of fires, invasions and battles, has changed significantly since the Roman era, but it retains much of the grandeur and is certainly a very impressive sight.

The church itself is massive, of course, this is Italy, experts when it comes to large church-building, and because of San Giovanni's predominance, it is spectacular, coming second ... more

San Giovanni isn't necessarily top of the tourist trail in Rome. This is probably because of it's location. It isn't as central as most of the other attractions and is certainly the reason I didn't venture out to San Giovanni until my fourth or fifth visit to Rome, but I am sorry I left it so long!

San Giovanni was Rome's first church, and indeed, is still Rome's cathedral, predating St Peter's, perhaps surprisingly. It was built (or at least started!) by the Emperor Costantine and his statue stands, impressively, in the forecourt. Of course the Cathedral, having survived a number of fires, invasions and battles, has changed significantly since the Roman era, but it retains much of the grandeur and is certainly a very impressive sight.

The church itself is massive, of course, this is Italy, experts when it comes to large church-building, and because of San Giovanni's predominance, it is spectacular, coming second only to St Peter's on the jaw-droppingly beautiful stakes.

It is home to the heads of Saints Paul and Peter, impressive artifacts, by any church's standards, and the alterpiece in the centre of the church, bedecked with a canopy and mosiacs is certainly a worthy home for such treasures.

From the outside of San Giovanni, you can see the Lateran Papal Palace (pre-Vatican days) which unfortunately is inaccessible to the public and contains the Scala Sancta (Holy Staircase) where apparently people go up these stairs on their knees. My helpful italian guide did tell me that the nuns at his convent school brought the whole class here when he was 10 and they were all made to ascend these stairs on their knees, which provided me with a wonderful mental image... (I have a bit of a strange sense of humour!).

Back inside San Giovanni, there is a small museum, I didn't go into it, but it was about 4000L to get in, there is a gift shop, which again, I thought a little strange in a church.

It is hard to explain the church in detail, because there are so many places for your attention to wander to. It is very strong on mosaics and history. You can walk around the cloisters for a small price (which I did pay) and it is particularly beautiful in the summer.

It is definitely, definitely worth the effort to come up here. There is a metro station (helpfully called San Giovanni) and lots of buses come up this way from the centre of Rome.

 

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