The Basilica of Saint John Lateran to 1600

The first inter-disciplinary study to examine the construction and development of the world's first cathedral from its origins to 1600.

L. Bosman (Edited by), I. P. Haynes (Edited by), P. Liverani (Edited by)

9781108813709, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 March 2023

608 pages
24.4 x 17 x 3.1 cm, 1.162 kg

'… this undoubtedly is the book to read to better understand the multifarious and intertwined material and ideological facets assumed by the Lateran over the centuries.' Yuri A. Marano, Medieval Archaeology

The Archbasilica of St John Lateran is the world's earliest cathedral. A Constantinian foundation pre-dating St Peter's in the Vatican, it remains the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, to this day. This volume brings together scholars of topography, archaeology, architecture, art history, geophysical survey and liturgy to illuminate this profoundly important building. It takes the story of the site from the early imperial period, when it was occupied by elite housing, through its use as a barracks for the emperor's horse guards to Constantine's revolutionary project and its development over 1300 years. Richly illustrated throughout, this innovative volume includes both broad historical analysis and accessible explanations of the cutting-edge technological approaches to the site that allow us to visualise its original appearance.

1. The Lateran basilica to 1600 IAN HAYNES, PAOLO LIVERANI, LEX BOSMAN
2. The evolution of the Lateran: from the Domus to the episcopal complex PAOLO LIVERANI
3. At the Foot of the Lateran Hill. From Via Sannio to Viale Ipponio: Archaeological investigations prior to the construction of Metro Line C1 ROSSELLA REA AND NICOLETTA SAVIANE
4. Ground Penetrating Radar survey in the St. John Lateran basilica complex SALVATORE PIRO, IAN HAYNES, PAOLO LIVERANI, DANIELA ZAMUNER
5. The first residential phases of the Lateran area and a hypothesis to explain the so-called Trapezoidal Building GIANDOMENICO SPINOLA
6. The Castra Nova and the Severan transformation of Rome IAN HAYNES AND PAOLO LIVERANI
7. Andrea Busiri Vici and the excavations of 1876: A re-assessment of the archaeological evidence SABINA FRANCINI
8. Visualising the Constantinian basilica LEX BOSMAN, PAOLO LIVERANI, IWAN PEVERETT AND IAN HAYNES
9. Constantine's spolia. A set of columns for S. Giovanni in Laterano and the Arch of Constantine in Rome LEX BOSMAN
10. The Constantinian basilica in the early medieval Liber Pontificalis ROSAMOND MCKITTERICK
11. The Lateran baptistery in the fourth and fifth Centuries: New certainties and unresolved questions OLOF BRANDT
12. The nymphaeum of Pope Hilarus PAOLO LIVERANI, IAN HAYNES
13. Examples of medieval construction techniques in the basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano LIA BARELLI
14. The Medieval portico of St. John in Lateran ANNA MARIA DE STROBEL, NICOLETTA BERNACCHIO
15. MATER ET CAPUT OMNIUM ECCLESIARUM: Visual strategies in the rivalry between S. Giovanni in Laterano and S. Pietro in Vaticano CAROLA JÄGGI
16. The remodeling of S. Giovanni in Laterano by Pope Nicolas IV: transept, apse and façade PETER CORNELIUS CLAUSSEN
17. Furtum sacrilegum: The 'holy heads' of Peter and Paul and their reliquaries in the Lateran DANIELA MONDINI
18. Reconsidering the traces of Gentile da Fabriano and Pisanello in the Lateran basilica ANDREA DE MARCHI
 19. The rite of the reconciliation of penitents at the Lateran basilica  JOHN F. ROMANO
20. The new Passion relics at the Lateran, fifteenth to sixteenth centuries: A translocated sacred topography NADJA HORSCH
 21. The east façade of the complex of St John Lateran in the modern era ALESSANDRO IPPOLITI
 22. The Book of Acts in the Constantinian basilica: Cardinal Cesare Baronio and the navata Clementina in San Giovanni in Laterano  FILIP MALESEVIC.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Architecture [AM], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]