The Lateran Baptistery In Rome, Italy Editorial Image

Inside view of the Lateran Baptistery located next to St. John Lateran and the Lateran Palace in Rome, Italy. Built by Constantine the Great in 315, the ancient structure is one of the oldest Christian buildings in Rome and the oldest baptistery in all of Christendom. Nothing from Constantine`s time remains inside the octagonal baptistery, but some features from Sixtus III`s remodeling in the 430s can be seen: primarily the eight porphyry columns that support an architrave and eight white marble columns. In the center of the baptistery is the baptismal font, which is ancient but not the original, which would have been a large octagonal font. The baptistery was restored under Pope Hadrian III 884-85 and also in the 12th century. The Baptistery was subject to an elaborate restoration during the pontificate of Urban VIII. While its interior architecture was consolidated and embellished after plans of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a fresco cycle with scenes from the life of Constantine was added by Andrea Sacchi on the walls of the ambulatory.