Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano

Piazza San Giovanni is usually the scene of the biggest events in Rome, but above all it should be seen as a kind of synthesis of Roman architectural culture, from antiquity to the 20th century. In the centre stands the Lateran obelisk, the highest (just under 50 metres if you include the base) and oldest in the city. It was transported to Rome from Thebes in 357 AD by Constantius II. It initially stood in the Circus Maximus and was only moved here in 1588. The very large and irregular space of the square is overlooked on one side by the Lateran Palace, home of the Vatican Historical Museum, the Baptistery and the Loggia delle Benedizioni of St. John Lateran Basilica, designed by Domenico Fontana in 1586, from which rise twin triple lancet bell towers from the 13th century with spires dating back to 1370 and, on the other, by St. John Lateran Basilica and the Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs. 

The history of Via di San Giovanni in Laterano is also interesting. Also known as the "broad street" of San Giovanni, it was opened by Pope Sixtus V at the end of the 16th century as part of the new Papal road intended to connect San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral of Rome, with the Vatican via the Colosseum and the Capitoline Hill.