St John Lateran, Holy Stairs & the Baptistery private tour

Follow your guide inside the wonderful St John Lateran. The sculptures inside will blow your eyes and its central nave, with its richly decorated 16th-century celing, commissioned to Borromini by Pope Innocent X for the 1650 Jubilee. The interiors will definitely surprise you.

You will then be led in to the Lateran Chiostro. Admire the beautiful and gracious marble columns while walking under the corridor. The Chiostro is one of the largest in Rome with its 36-meters sidewalk, dating back to the 13th century.

Next, cross the street to enter the small yet unique Baptistery of Lateran. The proper denomination should be “San Giovanni in Fonte”. It was built in the 4th century by Constantine, together with the basilica of Saint John in Lateran, on top of a villa and a thermal building that dated back to the 2nd century.

Particularly interesting is the entrance with a fragment of Roman lintel. The interior has an octagonal plan. In the middle center you will see an eight porphyry columm ring with Corinthian capitals supporting an octagonal lintel over which there is another order of smaller white marble columns. On the walls there are modern copies of Andrea Sacchi’s works that recall the stories of Giovanni Battista, under which there are frescoes of Constantine’s stories painted by A. Camassei, G. Gimignani and C. Maratta. In a smaller apse, a 5th century mosaic is worth to be mentioned. In the middle of a 16th century round closure is a font, a green basalt urn with a bronze cover, a work by Ciro Ferri (1634-1689).

A mus-see in your visit is the sacred Holy Stairs. Your will not walk up to the top on your knees but, beside, you will be able to reach the top to see the Chapel of Sancta Sanctorum by side stairs. It is one of the most important and renowned sanctuaries in the Roman Catholic Church. Located near the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Sanctuary is considered as the first private Papal chapel. The sanctuary gets its name from the 28 marble steps of the Holy Stairs.

At the end of the tour you will be able to remain in St John Lateran to wander around and re-enter all those sites if you wish.