Ceiling In The Basilica Of St John Lateran In Rome Italy Editorial Image

It is the oldest of and has precedence among the four papal major basilicas, all of which are in Rome, because it is the oldest church in the West and houses the cathedra of the Roman Pontiff. It has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful. The archbasilica stands over the remains of the Castra Nova equitum singularium, the `New Fort of the Roman imperial cavalry bodyguards`. The fort was established by Septimius Severus in AD 193. Substantial remains of the fort lie directly beneath the nave