Saint John Lateran_01
Arc basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, is the official seat of the Bishop of Rome- the pope. It was home to the Papacy until the 14th century. Founded by Constantine in AD 314, it is the city’s oldest Christian basilica and dedicated to John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. It was burnt and rebuild many times during the years and finally, Pope Martin V and his successors rebuilt the basilica. They, however, never again used the palace, as a residence, the Vatican, which stands in a much drier and healthier position, being chosen in its place.
The central bronze doors of the basilica are Roman originals from the Curia (Senate House) in the Imperial Forum. At the left end of the portico stands a Roman statue of Constantine the Great, which was found in the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian. The two-storied portico that makes up the facade of the basilica dates from the 18th century. Large statues of Christ and the saints, also dating from the 18th century are on top the façade. Inside the basilica, parts of the 4th-century nave colonnade can now be seen supporting the triumphal arch, flanking the Altar of the Holy Sacrament, and flanking the statues of the apostles in the nave. Above the apostles are 17th-century relief panels with Old Testament scenes on the left and related scenes from the New Testament on the right. The graceful baldacchino dates from 1369. At the top is a reliquary said to contain the heads of Saints Peter and Paul. Beneath the baldacchino is the High Altar, which can only be used by the Pope.
I chose the San Giovanni because of its magnificence and beauty. It’s amazing how this used to actually be the original housing of the popes and it still remains as one of the major basilicas of Rome. It’s great to see that the Pope still comes to pray here and gives this church that kind of respect. The most special part of this church for me is the beautiful structures of the apostles and the frescos on top. It was breathtaking to see The Scala Sancta, wooden steps that encase white marble steps, which according to roman catholic tradition, are the staircase leading once to the praetorium of Pilate at Jerusalem, hence sanctified by the footsteps of Jesus Christ during his Passion. .
Sanam Vazir, Survey of Art and Architecture, University of Florida
St. John Lateran_02
The Basilica of St. John Lateran is known as the cathedral of Rome—it is the official seat of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome. The façade was designed by Alessandro Galilei in 1735, after he won a contest for the church’s reconstruction that was proposed by Pope Clement XII. On the roof are large figures of the saints, and in the center are Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist. His design was not traditional basilica architecture, but it incorporated a neo-classical, baroque style.
The interior of the basilica contains a central nave and four aisles. Francesco Borromini was commissioned by Pope Innocent X to design the interior. He created twelve niches along the nave and aisles, and later statues of the Apostles were filled in the niches. They were designed in the late Baroque style and created by Bernini’s students. Sculptures above the Twelve Apostles also depict stories that relate from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The cathedra, the chair of a bishop, sits in the apse of the basilica, symbolizing the church’s status as the cathedral of Rome.
The site of the basilica was originally on the grounds of a palace of the family Laterani. The Lateran Palace eventually was taken up residence by Pope Sylvester I in 314, and the palace became the official papal residence from the 5th century until the French Pope Clement V transferred the seat of the Catholic Church to Avignon. Five Lateran councils have taken place in the Lateran Palace, which is next to the basilica. After two fires occurred in the basilica and palace, the buildings began to lose their prestige, and they were deemed inadequate to serve for the Bishop of Rome when the Avignon papacy ended. I found it interesting to compare St. John Lateran with the current Vatican, for there are many similarities in the façade and the grandiose dimensions of the basilicas. Knowing the history of St. John Lateran is very important in understanding the foundations of the Vatican and the spread of the Catholic Church.
Emily Ostrom, Survey of Art and Architecture, University of Florida
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St. John Lateran is the true Church of Rome. Not only is it the oldest church in Rome but it is also where the bishop’s chair, also known as the cathedra, can be found. Built in the early 310’s; it still remains under debate but historians believe Constantine decided around 313-314 to use funds from the imperial treasury to build a large church for the bishop of Rome, who is also the Pope. The above factors make St. John Lateran special, which is why each new pope makes the symbolic trip from St. Peter’s to St. John Lateran.
Established in the medieval times during the early Christian era St. John Lateran is made up mostly of marble or at least that how it would appear. It takes the form of a normal basilica, thus has an oblong structure with a peaked roof, flat painted ceiling, and a wide rectangular center, with two narrower side isles supported by pillars. It also has what I like to call numerous little niches in the sides where paintings, monuments, and memorial can be found. Along the top of the roof there are eleven statues which can be seen from the front of the building. The main entrance faces away from the city of Rome. This is one reason why St. John Lateran did not become the popular church of Rome although it was the first, it also did not have a good location being set on the out-skirts of the city. Also shortly after the construction for this church began, Constantine also ordered the building of St. Peter’s which was believed to have the tomb of St. Peter inside, this also decreased St. John Lateran’s popularity. The St. John Lateran we see today is not entirely the original much of it was rebuilt or added in 1580 when Sixtus V ordered the original Lateran Palace demolished and rebuilt. In 1640 Innocent X ordered Borromini to rebuild the church. Much of the inside we see today is his doing based on the Baroque period. He also left plans for paintings and statues later built by other. Furthermore, he designed the niches we see today many of which house religious tombs. The exterior is not by Borromini but by Alessandro Galilei who completed it in the 1730s.
I chose to depict the St. John Lateran because it has a lot of history behind its existence that I find unique. Also because although I know it holds much significance the average person doesn’t seem to know about it, I had never heard of it until this trip. For me if it like supporting the knowledge of the underdog. I think it is also beautiful and a hidden treasure. The readings and history tell us that from the few Christians that were in Rome at the time of its original creation it was not the happening church to go to, however, there is a good deal of logic as to why that is the case.
Shannon Carter Norris, Survey of Art and Architecture, St. John’s University
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St. John Lateran is a church that was commissioned to be built around 313-314 AD by Constantine who was not Catholic at the time. The architect of St. John Lateran was Alessandro Galilei and he completed the church in the 1730s. The church is made of a white-gray marble with gold adorning most of the interior. St. John Lateran was constructed during early medieval Rome. The style of St. John Lateran is Baroque.
Due to the fact that only 10% of Rome’s population were Christians, it was not a smart idea for Constantine to build St. John Lateran in the center of the Eternal City. Therefore, Constantine chose to build the church on the outskirts of the eastern part of the city. The architecture followed after civic architecture, unlike the usual choice of a pagan style. The most profound part of this type of architecture is the basilica which as stated by Testa is, “an oblong structure with a peaked roof, flat ceiling, and wide central nave flanked on each side by two narrower aisles held up by columns” (92). The interior of the church contains the stone bishop’s chair which makes St. John Lateran officially the Pope’s cathedral. Walking throughout the interior, one can see giant piers and pillars, mosaics, statues of the twelve Apostles, tons of colored marble, gold spanning across the entire ceiling, many small chapels where people are praying, confessionals, relief sculptures, and numerous paintings. The exterior of the building is all white-gray marble. The architecture as asserted by Testa is a “two story portico with giant pilasters that flank a pedimented temple front. Along the roofline are fifteen of the largest post-antique statues in Rome: a twenty-four-foot image of Christ at the center between two St. John’s, flanked by the twelve major theologians of the Greek and Latin churches” (94). Today St. John Lateran is situated within a busy part of Rome where merchants are peddling there goods, townspeople of Rome are catching buses, and tourists are snapping tons of pictures.
The reason why Constantine decided to build St. John Lateran is still under debate. Most believe that he wanted to build a great and daunting church for the bishop of Rome. To do so he used money from the imperial treasury. At the time it was to serve as the Pope’s cathedral as it still does today. The church was originally dedicated to Christ, but was then changed to John the Baptist in the 9th century, as well as in the 12th century an additional dedication of John the Evangelist was made, giving the church its name. St. John Lateran functioned as a place where five medieval councils were held, the Second Lateran Council as the most important where priests were mandated to celibacy, as well as where trials were held, and by the 1600s where most of the Pope’s tombs were housed. The function of St. John Lateran has remained the same but much of the architecture has not. A total of nine reconstructions occurred between the 5th and 17th centuries. In the 1800s the ancient apse was replaced. In the 1990s, after a terrorist bombing of the benediction loggia, the north side of the basilica had to be reconstructed.
I chose to journal about St. John Lateran because from the moment you walk in you realize there is something special about the church. All the churches I have seen so far are overdone, and although this one has a lot of detail it was perfection. Everything is so grandiose and breathtaking that you can not help but sit down for a minute to take it all in. One could stay there for hours and still not be able to see each and every detail. Moreover, in the aspect of detail, the mosaics on the floor are so intricate keeping to a specific green and red pattern. The tile pieces of the mosaic are so small I can not begin to imagine the precision and time it must have taken to complete such an arduous task. I went to pray and began to cry because I was just overcome by the magnificence of the church. As a person not coming from a religious background I was surprised that I was able to have such an experience of transcendence. Moments like that are things one never forgets. At the time St. John Lateran was built only 10% of Rome’s population were Christian. Due to this Romans of that time would not identify with this church. Furthermore, as stated by Testa, “although the popes struggled to make the Lateran into the city’s religious center, for the most part the city would develop to the west, toward the Vatican” (93). Unfortunately, due to where Constantine built St. John Lateran and the Romans of the times religious affiliation the church was not recognized like it is today.
Maggie Driscoll, Survey of Art and Architecture, St. John’s University
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