Lateran Basilica

Item

Title
Lateran Basilica
Alternative Title
Saint John Lateran
San Giovanni in Laterano
Creator
Domenico Fontana (Italian architect, 1543-1607)
Francesco Borromini (Italian architect, 1599-1667)
Alessandro Galilei (Italian architect and engineer, born 1691, died 1736 or 1737)
Drafter
Hibon, Auguste (French engraver and etcher, 1780-1857)
City
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Location
Italy
Building Creation Date
ca. 314-1736 (inclusive)
Description
perspective of the main façade of the basilica and palace
interier perspective of the basilica from the entrance, exterior perspectives
interior perspectives
Dedicated to the Saviour and (certainly from the 7th century) to St John, and known as S Giovanni in Laterano, the basilica is the cathedral church of Rome. It was regarded as the mother church of all Christendom, as is made clear by the inscription omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput, which appears twice on the huge bases of the columns framing the central doorway to the present building. The church was probably begun after the Edict of Milan (313) and consecrated just before Constantine's departure to the East in 318
it would then have been incomplete and largely undecorated. The proportions and spatial distribution of the present nave (by Borromini,1646-1650) substantially reflect those of the Early Christian basilica. The main façade (1732-1736) by Alessandro Galilei is simple, solemn and harmonious, in a late Baroque Classicist style, with the benediction loggia on the main axis. Galilei also added the Corsini Chapel.
Techniques
line drawings (drawings)
Classification
Architectural Documentation
Documentation Type
illustrations
Style/Period
Baroque
Early Christian
Cultural Context
Italian
Subject
architectural exteriors
architectural interiors
New Testament
rulers and leaders
saints
Source
Letarouilly, Paul Marie. Edifices de Rome Moderne. Paris: A. Morel, 1868, 226.
Access Rights
Public Domain
creator
Fontana, Domenico
Borromini, Francesco, Galilei, Alessandro

Domenico Fontana (Italian architect, 1543-1607), Francesco Borromini (Italian architect, 1599-1667), and Alessandro Galilei (Italian architect and engineer, born 1691, died 1736 or 1737), “Lateran Basilica”, Arch Design Images, accessed November 14, 2024, https://exhibits.lib.ttu.edu/s/archlib/item/19154