Laterano Inn
Roma (Rome), Italy

The property belonged to the Laterani family, but when they fell from grace it was confiscated. Constantine gave it to the church, and the church was built. It was first known as the Basilica Salvatoris, Basilica of the Saviour. The present name is a result of the importance of the baptistry in the church, and of the presence of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sts John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. At an early stage, it was also called the Basilica Aurea, "The Golden Basilica", because of its rich decorations.
It was 90 metres long and 50-56 metres wide but the interior was lavishly decorated. The basilica was sacked by the Vandals in the 5th century, and restored by Pope St Gregory the Great c. 460.

In front of the church is a junction where traffic leaves and enters the walled city by the 16th century Porta San Giovanni and the Porta Asinaria. The latter is the gate that Totila the Goth entered Rome by in 547. If you look towards Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, you can see the bronze sculpture of St Francis with his disciples. The statue depicts an event from the life of the saint. While he was in Rome to get the Holy Father's approval for his Order, Pope Innocent III saw in a dream that a man was supporting the basilica, which was on the verge of collapse. The next day, he met St Francis and recognized in him the saint sent by God to restore the church - not only St John Lateran but the Church in general. The Triclinium LeoninumThe old Lateran Palace was demolished by Pope Sixtus V. The new buildings he erected were formerly the Pontifical Museum of Christian Art, and are now the offices of the Diocese of Rome. A small part of the old palace is preserved. To your left as you face the statue of St Francis is a group of buildings with the apse mosaic of the papal dining hall, Triclinium Leoninum, now on the outside of the remains of the building. It depicts Christ with the Apostles in the centre; Christ with Constantine and Pope Sylvester I on the left; and St Peter, Pope Leo III and Charlemagne on the right. Pope Leo III has a square nimbus, showing that he was alive when it was made. The mosaic has been dated to the year 800, when Charlemagne was crowned in Rome.