Reliquary of St Valentine the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome is the oldest of and has precedence among the 4 papal major basilicas,
The Basilica of st John Lateran has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful. The archbasilica stands over the remains of the Castra Nova equitum singularium, the "New Fort of the Roman imperial cavalry bodyguards". The fort was established by Septimius Severus in AD 193. Substantial remains of the fort lie directly beneath the nave. Pope Sixtus V hired his favorite architect, Domenico Fontana, to supervise much of the project. The original Lateran Palace was demolished and replaced with a new are six extant papal tombs inside the archbasilica: Alexander III (right aisles), Pope Sergius IV (right aisles), Pope Clement XII Corsini (left aisle), Pope Martin V (in front of the confessio); Pope Innocent III (right transept); and Pope Leo XIII (left transept), by G. Tadolini (1907). The last of these, Pope Leo XIII, was the last pope not to be entombed in St. Peter's Basilica.
Size: 6016px × 4016px
Location: Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy
Photo credit: © Brenda Kean / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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