San Giovanni (the Rome neighborhood centered on the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, the neighborhood whose identity is entirely determined by the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome and the seat of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) as Bishop, making it technically more important in the Catholic hierarchy than St Peter's Basilica, which is the Pope's personal and ceremonial church rather than his episcopal seat)): the specific San Giovanni paradox in the Rome tourist economy (the neighborhood that houses Rome's most historically important single church receives a fraction of the Vatican area's visitor numbers, because the specific historical significance of the Lateran basilica (the title "mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world", the specific canonical title that the Lateran enjoys) is less immediately legible to the international visitor than the visual spectacle of St Peter's Square).
The Lateran Treaty (the February 11, 1929 agreements between the Holy See and the Italian government signed in the Lateran Palace (the palace adjacent to the basilica), the specific accords that ended the "Roman Question" (the 60-year dispute between the papacy and the Italian state over the 1870 capture of Rome): the Lateran Treaty established the Vatican City State (the specific 44 hectares of sovereign territory centered on St Peter's and the Vatican Palace), the Concordat (the specific agreement governing the Catholic Church's status in Italy), and the financial convention (the compensation of 750 million lire for the papal territories lost in 1870): the Lateran Palace where Mussolini and Cardinal Gasparri signed the treaty is the specific building visible adjacent to the basilica from the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano.
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San Giovanni: Basilica, Palace, and Market
The Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (the original basilica of Constantine, 314 AD, rebuilt repeatedly (the most dramatic rebuilding by Francesco Borromini in 1646-1649 when Innocent X commissioned the transformation of the existing medieval basilica into the Baroque interior visible today): the specific San Giovanni interior (the Borromini nave with the colossal stucco Apostle figures (each Apostle by a different Baroque sculptor, producing the specific variety-within-unity of the nave program), the Corsini Chapel (the 18th-century papal family chapel), and the specific medieval apse mosaic (the 13th-century mosaic program of the apse, one of the most technically accomplished large-scale mosaics in Rome)): open daily 7:00-18:30, free admission. The baptistery (the most ancient baptistery in Christendom, the original 4th-century structure with the octagonal plan that became the model for all next western Christian baptisteries).
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See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Porta San Giovanni Sunday Market
Mercato di Porta San Giovanni (the Sunday morning market outside the Porta San Giovanni gate, the second largest Sunday market in Rome after Porta Portese): the specific Porta San Giovanni Sunday market (the clothing, the household goods, the furniture, and the occasional antiquarianism that the east-Rome Sunday market tradition produces): open Sunday 6:00-14:00. Accessible by Metro A San Giovanni station (the adjacent metro stop makes this the most metro-accessible major Rome market).
Q&A: San Giovanni Quartiere
Why is San Giovanni in Laterano more important than St Peter's?
In the Catholic hierarchy: the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano is the Cathedral of Rome, the specific church that the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) uses as his episcopal church, the church from which the Pope exercises his specific authority as Bishop of Rome rather than as head of the universal church. St Peter's Basilica is the Pope's personal and ceremonial church (the church over the tomb of Saint Peter, the church of the Papal liturgical celebrations), but it isn't a cathedral, it doesn't have an episcopal see (the Bishop's chair, the cathedra, is in San Giovanni, not in St Peter's). The specific ranking (San Giovanni holds the title "omnium ecclesiarum urbis et orbis mater et caput", "mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world") reflects this episcopal primacy. The practical visitor reality: St Peter's attracts 25,000 visitors per day. San Giovanni attracts perhaps 2,000, the most visited church in the world isn't the most important one.
Internal Links
- Laterano: Dalla Roma di Costantino
- Borromini: San Giovanni e l'Interno Barocco
- San Giovanni in Inverno: La Basilica Senza Turisti
- Fotografare San Giovanni: Il Colonnato e la Basilica
- San Giovanni in Laterano: Ingresso Gratuito
- Roma Papale: Il Laterano e i Suoi Segreti
- Come Arrivare a San Giovanni: Metro A
