In one of the historic districts of the city, adjacent to the St. John Lateran Basilica, the "Mater et Caput" of all the churches of Rome and the world, stands the Lateran Palace, the papal seat and official residence of the Popes for many centuries.
Damaged several times over the centuries, by earthquakes, raids and invasions, and promptly restored, it was devastated by a fire in 1308.
It is possible to access the site from Piazza di Porta San Giovanni, right next to the entrance to the Basilica, in small groups, accompanied by the wise guide of the Missionary Sisters of Divine Revelation.
The visit will unfold along ten rooms, richly frescoed, up to the private apartment of the Bishop of Rome.
The guided tour will end at the entrance to St. John Lateran Basilica, from which you can proceed independently to discover the Basilica, the Cloister and the Papal Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum, with a multilingual audio guide.
With a single ticket you can visit the Papal Apartments of the Lateran Palace, the House of the Bishop Rome and the Lateran Complex.
Lateran Palace guided Tour
To visit the Lateran Palace it will be necessary to show up at least 15 minutes before the booking time and show the QR code directly at the entrance, Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, next to the main entrance of St. John Lateran Basilica
Lateran Complex with audio guide
To collect the audio guide for the visit of the Lateran Complex, it will be necessary to go to the entrance to the Cloister of St. John Lateran Basilica and show your entrance ticket.
To use the audio guides it will be necessary to leave a valid identity document, which can be collected at the end of the visit.
No reservations are made for the Cloister and the Papal Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum.
The walls of this room are frescoed with representations of ten great episodes from the life of Jesus, concerning the mission of the Apostles.
Also known as the "Sala dei Patti Lateranensi", in memory of the signing of the Concordat here on 11 February 1929, its correct name is due to the depiction of nineteen Popes, seated under canopies along the large frieze of the upper register, dominated by the beautiful wooden ceiling. executed in 1589 by Cesare Santarelli.
It owes its name to the frescoes representing fourteen emperors who defended and propagated Christianity, identified through the cruciferous coins found during the reconstruction of this Palace at the behest of Pope Sixtus V. The ceiling, rebuilt in the 19th century based on a design by the architect Luigi Poletti , bears the coats of arms of Pope Gregory XVI Cappellari who wanted the radical restoration of the building.
