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BASILICA DI SAN GIOVANNI IN LATERANO
For 1000 years this monumental cathedral was the most important church in
Christendom. Commissioned by the emperor Constantine in the fourth century, it was
the first Christian basilica to be built in Rome and, until the 14th century, was the
pope's main place of worship. The Vatican still has extraterritorial authority over it,
despite it being Rome's official cathedral and the pope's seat as Bishop of Rome.
