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| Basilica of St. John Lateran |
Which sites you should not miss when visiting Rome?
Colosseum? Vatican? Trevi Fountain? Well, those are easy answers, but...
Very likely you already know those places having seen them on pictures, movies, books and so on.
And very likely, after going there, you will hate Rome having been submerged by the crowd of people and invited to buy low quality souvenirs by hundreds of seller insisting continuosly to convince you to buy something you do not want.
So, here is my selection of places you should not absolutely miss during your visit in Rome
- St. John Lateran
- Porta Maggiore
- Appian Way
ST. JOHN LATERAN
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| St. John Lateran |
Thousands of people viist every day St. Peter and the Vatican. Much less people visit
St. John Lateran that is, actually, the cathedral of Rome and the Holy See. Yes, the throne of the Pope is in
St. John Lateran, here is the place where his power starts. St. John Lateran has been the first church to be built in Rome and it is considered the
mother of all the churches of the world. And, aloong with the basilica of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, that is located just few hundreds neters away and the
Holy Stairs (Scala Sancta), that is located just in front of it, is the symbol of the new equilibrium of power that was defined by the emperor Constantine I the Great in the early IV century AD. That equilibrium has survived till the present days when we consider the influence of the Pope on the political life of the western world.
The Edict of Milan, year 313 AD, stated the importance of the christian religion and was the first step of a political alliance among the empire and the christian community. The first sign of that alliance was the donation of the area former fort of the imperial cavarly bodyguard and of the adjacent Lateran Palace, previously known as Domus Faustae (House of Fausta, Constantine's wife).
St. John Lateran was then erected and the Lateran Palace became the residence of the Pope.
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| Santa Croce in Gerusalemme |
It is well known the the policy of Constatine was strongly inspired by his mother
Elena (St. Helen). After her trip to Palestine, she brought back the relics of the Holy Cross, that were placed in the basilica of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, built on the location of her house, the
Domus Sessoriana, and the stairs of the Governor Palace of Jerusalem that are believed to be those used by Jesus when going to Pilatus. The stairs were placed in a building in front of
St. John Lateran.
What essentially occurred in the first part of the IV century AD was that the emperor left to the Pope the moral and religious power, earlier connected to the political and military power in the person of the emperor. And The End of that is not yet arrived.
PORTA MAGGIORE
Porta Maggiore, one of the gates of the Aurelian Wall is probably the place where ancient and modern Rome live together.
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| Porta Maggiore |
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| Urban railway |
Nowadays
Porta Maggiore is one of the main traffic and public transportatio hubs in Rome. Four tramway lines, one urban railway line and some bus lines pass here. Two important roads,
Via Prenestina and
Via Casilina (once named
Labicana), start from here.
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| Aqueduct |
Two thousand years ago it was also a traffic hub for the same two roads. And it was also the main water hub of the city; 9 were entering to Rome in that area.
Porta Maggiore itselfis in reality a monumental arch carrying the piping of two aqueducts,
Aqua Claudia and
Aqua
Anio Novus. Piping is clearly visible from the side.
APPIAN WAY
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| Appian Way |
What should be said about the
Appian Way apart from the fact that it was named
Regina Viarum, Quenn of the Roads? It has been the first highway ever built. The
construction technique is so sophisticated that the road has survived till the present days and it's partially used,
Apart from the road itsel, the
Appian Way offers a lot to se: the
Circus of Maxentius, the
Mausoleum of Caecilia Metella,
Villa dei Quintili,
Castrum Caetani,
Priscilla tomb, the basilica of
San Sebastiano fuori le mura, one of the original
Seven Pilgrim Churches, the
Catacombs of San Callisto and much more.
