Guided tour of the Cloister and the Basilica of San Giovanni

The Basilica dedicated to the SS. Salvatore and to the SS. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist is the oldest Christian church, commissioned by the emperor Constantine after his conversion and his victory over Maxentius. It was consecrated in 324 AD. And this is why it is defined as the mater et caput of all the churches of Rome and of the world. Here was the Baptistery, for a long time the only place where the faithful could be baptized. The Patriarchio was located in its heart, the seat of the Popes until the beginning of the 1300s. Upon returning from exile in Avignon, the residence of the Popes then moved to the Vatican. Constantine's mother brought here from Jerusalem the Praetorian Staircase, walked by Jesus during his trial. In one of her chapels, the Sancta Sanctorum, the most sacred relics of Christianity were kept. With the transformations of the following centuries and, in particular those of the mid-seventeenth century, the Basilica took on its current shape and for its beauty it has been defined as "Aurea", that is, made of gold.