Palazzo Laterano

San Giovanni & Testaccio


Palazzo Laterano was the official papal residence until the pope moved to the Vatican in 1377. Adjacent to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, it's still technically Vatican property and today houses offices of the Vicariate of Rome. Much altered over the centuries, it owes its current form to a 16th-century facelift by Domenico Fontana.

It's not open to the public.

Overlooking the palazzo is Rome’s oldest and tallest obelisk.

Transportation

  • metro: San Giovanni

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby San Giovanni & Testaccio attractions

1. Obelisk

0.05 MILES

Overlooking Palazzo Laterano, this is said to be the world's largest standing Egyptian obelisk. Topping off at almost 46m, it's also the oldest of Rome's…

4. Battistero Lateranense

0.08 MILES

Built by Constantine in the 4th century, this octagonal baptistery served as the prototype for later Christian churches and bell towers. The chief point…

5. Triclinium Leoninum

0.1 MILES

This showy brick facade adorned with a gold apse mosaic is an 18th-century reconstruction of the end wall of the banqueting hall in the original Palazzo…

6. Museo Storico della Liberazione

0.18 MILES

The apartment block at Via Tasso 145 was the headquarters of the German SS during the Nazi occupation of Rome (1943–44), and now a small and sombre museum…

7. Palazzo Merulana

0.26 MILES

Housed within the splendidly restored Palazzo Merulana, this impressive museum exhibits artworks sourced from the Elena and Claudio Cerasi Foundation (the…

8. Basilica dei SS Quattro Coronati

0.38 MILES

This brooding fortified church harbours some lovely 13th-century frescoes and a delightful hidden cloister, accessible from the left-hand aisle. The…

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