it was here at Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, that all popes were enthroned up until 1870.

Within the the 14thcentury Gothic canopy inside of Saint John Lateran, contains a relic of the original wooden altar used by Saint Peter. It also contains two images of Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of Rome. These busts contain what are said to be their respective skulls, or at least parts of their skulls.

To the left of the main altar is the Altar of the Holy Sacrament. At the top, there is a small bronze relief sculpture depicting the Last Supper. Behind this, in a reliquary, is a fragment of the table used at that meal.

There is an exquisite Cosmatesque cloister (not shown) attached to the Cathedral, built between 1288 and 1350.

Officially, it is called "The Papal Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in the Lateran", also known as the Saint John Lateran or the Lateran Basilica. It is the Catholic cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, and serves as the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

The name Laterano (Lateran) comes from an ancient Roman family, whose palace grounds occupied the site; the adjacent Lateran Palace was the primary residence of the pope until the Middle Ages.

The church is the oldest and highest ranking of the four major papal basilicas as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, holding the unique title of "archbasilica". Founded in 324, it is the oldest public church in the city of Rome, and the oldest basilica of the Western world.

The president of the French Republic, currently Emmanuel Macron, is ex officio the "First and Only Honorary Canon" of the archbasilica, a title that the heads of state of France have possessed since King Henry IV.