The basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope, is the mother and head of all the churches of Rome and the world and the oldest and most important basilica in the western world.

It has a very long history. It dates back to the Paleochristian age, when it was built on land which belonged to Emperor Constantine. The evolution of the church began in the early middle ages and continued into the late middle ages and the Baroque age. Today’s features were constructed in 1732.

The north entrance is in Piazza di Porta San Giovanni where there is an obelisk made of red granite; it is higher than 30 meters and it is probably the tallest of all the obelisks in Rome. This obelisk was made during the reign of the Pharoahs Thutmosis III and Thutmosis IV and it once stood in the temple of Ammone in Thebes, in Egypt. It was brought to Rome by Emperor Constance II in 357 and it initially stood in Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus).