Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano

The Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano holds an ecclesiastical rank even higher than St Peter's: as the cathedral of Rome and the official seat of the Pope in his role as Bishop of Rome, it carries the title 'mother and head of all churches of the city and the world'. It traces its origins to the early 4th century under Constantine, making it the oldest of Rome's four papal basilicas, though the building visitors see today is largely the result of later rebuilding, most dramatically Francesco Borromini's 17th-century restructuring of the nave and Alessandro Galilei's imposing 18th-century façade, topped by fifteen colossal statues of Christ and the saints visible from across the square. Inside, the vast nave is lined with monumental sculpted figures of the apostles set into Borromini's niches, beneath a richly coffered and gilded Renaissance ceiling. At the centre of the transept rises a soaring Gothic tabernacle over the papal altar, traditionally said to contain relic reliquaries of the heads of Saints Peter and Paul. The adjoining 13th-century cloister, with its twisted, mosaic-inlaid Cosmatesque columns, offers one of the most tranquil spaces in the city and is reached through a small side entrance for a modest fee. Directly across the square stands the Scala Santa, the Holy Stairs, a flight of twenty-eight marble steps traditionally believed to be from Pontius Pilate's palace in Jerusalem and said to have been climbed by Christ; pilgrims still ascend them on their knees in prayer, now protected beneath wooden covers. A visit to the basilica alone takes about an hour, longer with the cloister and stairs. Entry to the basilica is free, with a dress code enforced at the door. The complex is reached by the San Giovanni stop on Metro Line A.