La Mostra    San Giovanni in Laterano

The works in the Lateran for the Extraordinary Holy year of 1933-1934

Lavori e restauri nel Laterano glorioso, in: L'osservatore romano, a. LXXIV, n. 34, 11 February 1934

The façade of St. John's, albumen photo, about 1870

S. Giovanni,albumen photo, about 1870

The interior of St. John's, albumen photo, about 1870

Interno S. Giov. in Laterano,albumen photo, about 1870

The holy heads of the saint apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of St. John's in Lateran

Among other things, the priceless relic of the sacred heads of apostles Peter and Paul, originally preserved at the Oratory of San Lorenzo, are conserved at the Basilica of St John. They were moved to the Basilica in the fourteenth century and placed in two valuable silver reliquaries made by Siena goldsmith Francesco di Bartolo; the present-day specimens, placed in the ciborium, are in fact a nineteenth-century copy by Giuseppe Valadier.

Veri ritratti delle statue d'argento nelle quali si conservano le ss.me teste delli gloriosi prencipi degl'apostoli Pietro, e Paolo nella sacro santa Chiesa Lateranense, in: Giuseppe Maria Soresino, De capitibus sanctorum apostolorum Petri, et Pauli in Sacrosancta Lateranensi ecclesia asservatis..., Roma 1673

The holy heads of the saint apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of St. John's in Lateran

Among other things, the priceless relic of the sacred heads of apostles Peter and Paul, originally preserved at the Oratory of San Lorenzo, are conserved at the Basilica of St John. They were moved to the Basilica in the fourteenth century and placed in two valuable silver reliquaries made by Siena goldsmith Francesco di Bartolo; the present-day specimens, placed in the ciborium, are in fact a nineteenth-century copy by Giuseppe Valadier.

Francesco Cancellieri, Memorie storiche delle sacre teste dei santi apostoli Pietro e Paolo e delle loro solenne ricognizione nella basilica lateranense, con un'appendice di documenti, 2a ed., Roma 1852

The holy heads of the saint apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of St. John's in Lateran

Among other things, the priceless relic of the sacred heads of apostles Peter and Paul, originally preserved at the Oratory of San Lorenzo, are conserved at the Basilica of St John. They were moved to the Basilica in the fourteenth century and placed in two valuable silver reliquaries made by Siena goldsmith Francesco di Bartolo; the present-day specimens, placed in the ciborium, are in fact a nineteenth-century copy by Giuseppe Valadier.

Giuseppe Maria Soresino, De capitibus sanctorum apostolorum Petri, et Pauli in Sacrosancta Lateranensi ecclesia asservatis..., Roma 1673

The holy heads of the saint apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of St. John's in Lateran

Among other things, the priceless relic of the sacred heads of apostles Peter and Paul, originally preserved at the Oratory of San Lorenzo, are conserved at the Basilica of St John. They were moved to the Basilica in the fourteenth century and placed in two valuable silver reliquaries made by Siena goldsmith Francesco di Bartolo; the present-day specimens, placed in the ciborium, are in fact a nineteenth-century copy by Giuseppe Valadier.

Giuseppe Maria Soresino, De capitibus sanctorum apostolorum Petri, et Pauli in Sacrosancta Lateranensi ecclesia asservatis..., Roma 1673

Francesco Petrarca to pope Urban V (Seniles, VII 1)

Francesco Petrarca, Lettere senili... volgarizzate e dichiarate con note da Giusepe Fracassetti, vol. I, Firenze 1869

St. John in Lateran in 1575

Natale Bonifacio (engr.), Anno Iubilei 1575 Lateranensis Basylica S. Ioannis in Urbe, in: Principio Fabrizi, Delle allusioni, imprese, et emblemi del sig. Principio Fabricii da Teramo sopra la vita, opere et attioni di Gregorio XIII..., Roma 1588

Map of the Lateran church and palace before Sixtus V works in the area

The map illustrates the lay-out of Lateran area before the great works commissioned by pope Sixtus, which at the end of sixteenth century transformed its arrangement. With the reference number 41 is marked the "Loggia e Pulpito di Bonifatio [VIII] per la Beneditione", while with the number 37 is marked the Hall of the Councils frescoed by Giotto, which both went missing with the sistine works and the demolition of the big Patriarchio.

Francesco Contini, Pianta della chiesa e palazzo lateranense, in: Giovanni Severano, Memorie sacre delle sette chiese di Roma e di altri luoghi, che si trovano per le strade di esse, vol. I (Parte prima in cui si tratta dell'antichità di dette chiese, di quello ch'era già ne i siti loro, delle fabriche...), Roma 1630

Map of the Lateran church and palace before Sixtus V works in the area

Ichnographia antiqui aedificii Basilicae et Patriarchii Lateranensis, in: Cesare Rasponi, De Basilica et patriarchio lateranensi libri quattuor..., Roma 1656

View of Lateran palace before Sixtus V works in the area

Louis Rouhier (engr.), Orthographia Patriarchii Lateranensis, in: Cesare Rasponi, De Basilica et patriarchio lateranensi libri quattuor..., Roma 1656

The Lateran basilica before Borromini's works wanted by Innocent X for the Jubilee of 1650

Giacomo Fontana, Basilica lateranense prima della riedificazione fattana da Innocenzo X, in: Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The Lateran basilica before Borromini's works wanted by Innocent X for the Jubilee of 1650

Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The Lateran basilica before Borromini's works wanted by Innocent X for the Jubilee of 1650

Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The Lateran basilica before Borromini's works wanted by Innocent X for the Jubilee of 1650

Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

History of Lateran basilica and palace written by Cesare Rasponi in XVII century

Cesare Rasponi, De Basilica et patriarchio lateranensi libri quattuor..., Roma 1656

Works by Innocent X and Borromini (1650) and by Clement XII and Alessandro galilei for the Basilica of St. John's in Lateran (1735)

In the run-up to the 1650 Jubilee, Innocent X commissioned Francesco Borromini to decorate the basilica’s interior. It was an extremely challenging commission, given that Borromini was given the job in 1644, just six years before the start of the Jubilee. The Pope gave Borromini strict instructions on the need to respect the Basilica’s paleo-christian layout. The architect was only partially able to comply with this, given the building’s poor condition. Work was completed in time for a Holy Year inauguration. Two years after being elected to the Papal See, Pope Clement XII (1730-1740) launched a competition to remodel the façade. A great many architects submitted designs. Florentine architect Alessandro Galilei, who was in service with the Grand Duke of Tuscany, came up with the winning project. In just three years, (1732-1735) he managed to complete the work, giving the façade the solemn appearance that characterizes it to this day, featuring a large portico and five openings in line with the naves of the church, and a long loggia overlaid with arches. The fifteen statues arranged on its summit represent the Blessing Christ, Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist, and theologians.

Giovanni Battista Gaddi, Roma nobilitata nelle sue fabbriche dalla santità di nostro signore Clemente XII..., Roma 1736

The new façade wanted by pope Clement XII and realized by the architect Alessandro Galilei

Pio Bertoni, Del nuovo prospetto fatto edificare da papa Clemente XII, in: Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The new façade wanted by pope Clement XII and realized by the architect Alessandro Galilei

Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The new façade wanted by pope Clement XII and realized by the architect Alessandro Galilei

Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The new façade wanted by pope Clement XII and realized by the architect Alessandro Galilei

Agostino Valentini, Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale Basilica lateranense, vol. I, Roma 1833

The new look of the Basilica of St. John's after the works by Borromini and Galilei

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Veduta della Facciata della Basilica di S. Giovanni Laterano, architettura di Alessandro Gallilei [1775], in: Id., Vedute di Roma disegnate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architetto veneziano, vol. I, Paris 1836

The new look of the interior of the Basilica of St. John's after the works by Borromini and Galilei

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Veduta interna della Basilica di S. Giovanni Laterano[1768], in: Id., Vedute di Roma disegnate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architetto veneziano, vol. I, Paris 1836

The new look of the Basilica of St. John's after the works by Borromini and Galilei

Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Basilica di S. Giovanni in Laterano, in: Id., Vedute principali e più interessanti di Roma, Roma 1799

The new look of the Basilica of St. John's after the works by Borromini and Galilei

Gaetano Cottafavi, Basilica Lateranense, in: Jeremiah Donovan, Rome ancient and modern and its environs, vol. I, Roma 1842

Ride for the installation of Pius VI elected pontiff during the Holy Year 1775

Girolamo Frezza, Solenne cavalcata fatta nel felicissimo possesso preso da n. signore papa Pio VI. pont. mas. nella Basilica di S. Gio. Laterano il di 30 novembre l'anno 1775. Nuovamente data in luce dalle stampe originali..., Roma 1775

Blessing from St. John's in Lateran loggia for the Ascension during the Jubilee of 1933

The Ascension blessing from St. John's in Lateran loggia is one of the solemn annual blessings conferred by the pontiff.

Sciamanna (photog.), Una cerimonia religiosa ripresa dopo una sospensione di 63 anni: la benedizione papale dalla loggia dell'arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano nel giorno dell'ascensione, Roma 25 maggio, in: L'illustrazione italiana, a. LX, n. 23, 4 June 1933

Vicar cardinal Marcantonio Colonnna notifies to the faithful the plenary indulgence granted by pope Pius VI to who will attend to the opening of the Holy doors of four patriarchal basilicas on 26 February 1775

Vicariato di Roma, Apertura delle porte sante: indulgenza plenaria a chi v'assiste,(23 February 1775), Roma 1775

The Seven churches of Rome with their relics, stations and indulgences

Reprinted in 1660 ca. by Giovanni Giacomo de’ Rossi from plates by Giacomo Lauro and Antonio Tempesta, this publication first came out for the Jubilee of 1600. It was republished as a pilgrims’ guide in 1609, 1621, 1630 and 1636. De Rossi’s reprint was the first to feature the Basilica of St Peter’s with Bernini’s colonnade. The lower right-hand corner of the reproduced map shows the “nine churches circuit”, an extended version of the seven churches traditionally included on the tour: the Church of San Paolo alle tre fontane and the Church of the Annunziatella, both of which Filippo Neri sometimes included owing to their proximity to Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

Le sette chiese di Roma con le loro principali reliquie stationi et indul.tie, Roma 1660

The nine churches to visit to get indulgences

The seven churches circuit was on occasion extended to nine by adding the Church of San Paolo alle tre fontane and the Church of the Annunziatella, both of which were close to Saint Paul Outside the Walls. San Paolo alle tre fontane was traditionally thought to be located on the spot where the apostle Paul was decapitated. That church was later incorporated into the abbey complex. Consecrated in 1220 by Pope Honorius III and dedicated to Maria Annunziata, hence its popular name “Annunziatella”, the church was attached to a hospital that cared for pilgrims.

Les neuf eglises qu'on visite pour avoir les indulgences, in: François Jacques Deseine, Rome moderne, première ville de l'Europe, avec toutes ses magnificences et ses délices..., vol. VI, Leiden 1713

The "Notizie istoriche delle quattro basiliche di Roma" by Giovanni Battista Vaccondio

To mark the 1700 Jubilee, Roman legal expert Father Giovanni Battista Vaccondio wrote what he defined “a learned curiosity of ecclesiastic erudition” that “may be well received... by those who hie to Rome to earn the treasure of a holy indulgence”. The slim volume opens with a brief excurses on the Holy Year (its origin, history and ceremonies), followed by a description of the four patriarchal basilicas.

Giovanni Battista Vaccondio, Notizie istoriche delle quattro basiliche di Roma... con un breve trattato dell'anno di remissione e sua origine..., Roma 1700

The "Descriptio urbis Romae novissima" by Giovanni Maggi

In 1600, a map of the city was produced for Jubilee pilgrims, framed as a polyptych in eight vignettes depicting the Holy Door opening ceremony at St Peter’s and the city’s seven most important churches. This map, made by Roman engraver Giovanni Maggi, was a great commercial success. It was reprinted a number of times; this version is from 1672. Its small format and the inclusion of brief historical and descriptive notes made it useful to pilgrims as a guide.

Giovanni Maggi, Descriptio urbis Romae novissima a. D. MDCLXXII, Roma 1672

The "Ritratto di Roma moderna" by Pompilio Totti

Pompilio Totti’s guide to Rome had two new features compared with its predecessors: it is in two distinct volumes edited and published at different times, but which complement one another: the “Ritratto di Roma antica” (1627), and a Portrait of Modern Rome (1628). In addition to this, the guide’s illustrations were the first to systematically use the more refined chalcographic process. The volume dedicated to modern Rome dispensed with the standard guidebook approach of the day. Instead, it adopted itineraries organized into days and districts. Although obviously based on an earlier work by Panciroli, its description of churches combined architectural and artistic notes with information on the origins, history and administration of churches, as well as on the Companies and Confraternities to which they belonged. The two-volume Ritratto continued to be published anonymously for sixty years by the de’ Rossi publishing house. It also came out in German and Dutch translations. The specimen on display is a 1652 edition updated with information and images of works commissioned by Innocent X: the Fontana dei Fiumi in Piazza Navona, the Lateran refurbished for the 1650 Jubilee, and Pietro da Cortona’s recently-completed frescoes at Chiesa Nuova.

Pompilio Totti, Ritratto di Roma moderna... in questa nuova editione accresciuto, e migliorato in molti luoghi, Roma 1652

"Roma ricercata nel suo sito" by Fioravante Martinelli, published for the Jubilee of 1650

Fioravante Martinelli, Roma ricercata nel suo sito, et nella scuola di tutti gli antiquarii, e descritta con breve, e facil modo per visitare li luoghi antichi e moderni della città... Seconda impressione revista, corretta, & aggiunta dall’autore in molti luoghi, accresciuta dal modo di acquistare il giubileo dell’anno santo M. DC. L, Roma 1650

Urban VIII (1623-1644), bronze medal of the Holy Year 1625 (reverse)

Mazio 186 (fig. Medaglie Mazio 20-186A)

Steel stamp made in 1851 by Giuseppe Bianchi for the reverse of a medal issued by Pius IX

Fig. Coni 23-1181 A

Extraordinary Jubilee of 1933 ends; closing of the Holy doors

Il Santo Padre chiude la porta santa della Basilica vaticana. Il sacro rito nelle altre Basiliche. Il riconoscente omaggio del mondo cattolico, in: L'osservatore romano, a. LXXIV, n. 79, 6 April 1934

1933 Holy Year inauguration ceremonies

Il giubileo della redenzione inaugurato dal Pontefice con l'apertura della porta santa, in: L'illustrazione italiana, a. LX, n. 15, 9 April 1933

The Cardinal Legate opens the Holy Door at St. John Lateran (Holy Year 1925)

Il cardinale Pompily compie la cerimonia dell'apertura della Porta Santa nella Basilica di S. Giovanni in Laterano, in: La Domenica del Corriere, a. XXVII, n. 2, 11 January 1925

The Holy Doors at the four patriarchal basilicas (Jubilee of 1900)

St. John Lateran and Saint Paul's Without-the-Walls

Dante Paolocci (draw.), Le quattro porte sante a Roma, in: L'illustrazione italiana, a. XXVII, n. 8, 25 February1900

Holy Year ceremonies in treatises from the late 1700s

Stanislao Poeti, Lettera al chiarissimo autore del trattato dell'anno santo sopra il famoso dubbio se la visita delle quattro basiliche fatta in giorni ecclesiastici continui e incominciata a' primi vespri d'ogni giorno, possa servire all'acquisto del giubileo, Roma 1775

Opening of the Holy Doors at the four basilicas in 1750

This detailed Relazione tells us about the ceremonies led by Benedict XIV and the three Legates for opening the Holy Doors at the patriarchal basilicas, featuring details about the processions, precedence, timing, gestures, roles and functions of participants and observers. The Report was published by the Roman Chracas publishers (later Cracas) famous for publishing the Diario di Roma and disseminating news about the papal court and its ceremonies

Distinta relazione delle sagre funzioni fatte dalla santità di nostro signore papa Benedetto decimoquarto nell'aprire la porta santa della basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano, e dalli tre eminentissimi legati a latere nell'aprire le porte sante delle altre tre patriarcali basiliche di S. Paolo, di S. Giovanni in Laterano e di S. Maria Maggiore, nel corrente anno santo 1750, Roma 1750

The Jubilee of 1500 as chronicled by Sigismondo dei Conti di Segni

Sigismondo dei Conti di Segni, born in Foligno (1432), lived in Rome from 1460 in the service of a number of pontiffs. He was highly familiar with the city and the Curia, where he essentially based his “Storie”. In his description of Alexander VI’s Jubilee, (not without polemic) he recounts the opening of the doors in the four basilicas and the solemn rite for opening the door at Saint Peter’s, celebrated personally by the Pope

Sigismondo dei Conti, Le storie de' suoi tempi dal 1475 al 1510..., vol. II, Roma 1883

The Holy Door at Saint John’s in the fifteenth century

Niccolò della Tuccia, who however seems to be reporting information he had heard indirectly, was the first to mention a “door”, although fifteenth-century chronicles already mentioned the opening of a special door in the Basilica of the Lateran in the fifteenth century. However, the information in question is contradictory, so we cannot be certain that the door existed or that it had any symbolic value.

Niccolò della Tuccia, Cronache di Viterbo e di altre città..., in: Cronache e statuti della città di Viterbo pubblicati ed illustrati da Ignazio Campi, Firenze 1872

Jubilee Basilicas: St John Lateran and St Paul's outside-the-Walls

St Paul's has been a Jubilee Basilica since 1300, St John's since 1343, for the Jubilee of 1350

Giacomo Brogi (phot.), Le basiliche del giubileo, in: L'illustrazione italiana, a. XXVI, n. 52, 24 December 1899

In the Jubilee of 1350, Saint John Lateran became one the basilicas pilgrims were required to visit

In 1350 Clement VI added St John Lateran to the number of basilicas pilgrims were required to visit in order to obtain the indulgence

Girolamo Franzini, Templ. S. Ioannis lateranen., in: Le cose maravigliose dell’alma città di Roma..., Roma 1595

Gregory XI's Bull, Salvator Noster Dominus

In1373, a Bull by Pope Gregory XI Bull included St Mary Major among the Basilicas pilgrims were required to visit to obtain the indulgence

Gregory XI, Salvator noster Dominus (29 aprile 1373), in: Collectionis bullarum sacrosanctae Basilicae vaticanae..., vol. II, Roma 1750

Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of 1350

Clement VI shortened the gap between Jubilees to 50 years and included St John in the Lateran among the Basilicas that pilgrims were required to visit

Clement VI, Unigenitus Dei filius (27 gennaio 1343), in: Collectionis bullarum sacrosanctae Basilicae vaticanae..., vol. I, Roma 1747

Boniface VIII in the Lateran fresco

The fragment in the Lateran Basilica was part of a bigger fresco cycle formerly in the Loggia delle benedizioni. Interpretation of the fresco is controversial. Recent diagnostic analyses seem to confirm the old interpretation that Boniface VIII is portrayed while announcing the Jubilee of 1300. The attribution to Giotto is unconfirmed

Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale,by Istituto dell'Enciclopedia italiana, vol. VI (Erfurt-Giustiniano), Roma 1995

Boniface VIII - engraved reproduction of the fragment from the Lateran fresco

The engraving reproduces the fragment of the Lateran fresco portraiying Boniface VIII. Chacón reported the fresco was by Giotto

Effigies Bonifacij Papae VIII à Giotto expressa in antiqua Lateranensis Basilicae porticu, atque inde secto pariete in eiusdem Templi claustrum translata, in: Alfonso Chacón, Vitae, et res gestae pontificum Romanorum et s.r.e. cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX..., vol. II, Roma 1677