Today is the feast of the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world, the Basilica of St. John Lateran. It is the Church's earliest basilica and was the residence of Popes for the first millennium of the Church's history. Today it serves as the cathedral to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI. It was in the 4th century that Constantine gave Pope Melchiade the palace on the Caelian Hill, a palace that was formerly owned by the Laterani family. Pope Melchiade had the original church built adjacent to the Lateran palace.
You can get a virtual tour here. Click and grab to get a 360 degree view and you can zoon in and out.
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