Basilica of S. Giovanni in Laterano

On the trail of the mosaics in Rome, we visited the Basilica Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano. It is the Diocese of Rome's church - so the pope is its bishop and it outranks St Peters in terms of importance.  It is the oldest public church in the city of Rome, and the oldest basilica of the Western world and has the title of 'ecumenical mother church of the Catholic faithful'. It seems to have been dedicated as a church in 313 AD by Emperor Constantine.

Hence it is huge, and somewhat austere. It is the burial place of at least 18 popes. It had little of the charm of the smaller churches that we had seen such as St Cecelia in Trastevere.

Apparently the present mosaic,was done in 1878 and is a copy of the destroyed late 13th century one, The original was executed in the year after 1291 by two Franciscan friars, Jacopo da Camerino and Jacopo Torriti.

There was a very lovely Madonna from the 14th century on display