Late Baroque façade of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, completed after a competition for the design by Alessandro Galilei in 1735

Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several architectural projects throughout Rome. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the former Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantine who in turn gave it to the Catholic Church. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine

The most famous Lateran buildings are the Lateran Palace, once called the Palace of the Popes, and the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, which although part of Italy is a property of the Holy See that has extra-territorial privileges as a result of the 1929 Lateran Treaty. The Lateran Palace, sometimes more formally known as the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (Italian Palazzo Laterano) is an ancient Palace of the Roman The Basilica of St John Lateran ( Italian: Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano) is the Cathedral of the church of Rome and the official This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic The Lateran Treaty is one of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 or Lateran Accords, three agreements made in 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy As the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope, St. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and John Lateran holds the Papal cathedra in its apse. A cathedra ( Latin, "chair" from Greek, kathedra, "seat" is the Chair or Throne of a Bishop APSE standing for Ada Programming Support Environment is a program or set of programs to support Software development in the Ada programming language. The Lateran is Christendom's earliest basilica, and is located on one of the 7 hills of Rome, the Caelian. The Caelian Hill (Latin Mons Caelius, Italian Celio) is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome.

The inscription at the base of the columns on either side of the central entrance door reads: SACROS LATERAN ECCLES OMNIUM URBIS ET ORBIS ECCLESIARUM MATER ET CAPUT. It translates to "Sacred Lateran Church Mother and Head of All Churches of the City and the World".

The doors to the house of the ancient Roman Senate, the Curia Hostilia, are the main entrance doors to the Basilica de San Giovanni in Laterano. Curia Julia, (Latin Curia Iulia) the third named curia or senate house in Ancient Rome was built in 44 BC when Julius Caesar replaced These doors are very impressive bronze doors, decorated with stars and acorns. Most of the original churches in Rome contain Roman artifacts. Some of the churches also are built over original churches. These churches preserve many of the vestiges of the old Roman Empire.

Bronze doors of the ancient Roman Senate taken from the Roman Forum became the main doors of the Lateran Basilica in 1660.

Constantine I gave San Giovanni to the Pope. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine Attached to the Lateran is a baptistry, one of the oldest in Christendom. In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry ( Latin baptisterium) is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the The baptistry contains the story of Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge in AD 312. The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place on October 28, 312, between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge (Ponte Molle or Ponte Milvio Latin: pons Milvius or pons Mulvius) in northern Rome

External links

• Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) - Article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• Christian Museum of Lateran - Article from the Catholic Encyclopedia