We didn't have any reserved tickets for today, so we were free to wander. We began by walking through the Porta San Giovanni -- San Giovanni Gate -- just a short walk from our hotel. This gate is part of the Aurelian walls (271-275 AD) that surround the city, as it was back in the day. Turrets and arches make it quite an impressive structure.
We crossed the street here so we could check out the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Basilica of St. John of Lateran.) I don't really understand all the fine points of this, but apparently it is a very important church.It dates back to AD 324 and is certainly eye-catching from the outside:
I liked this marble dove floor mosaic.
It seemed like everywhere we looked there was something new to see - domes, statues, mosaics, a pretty decent-looking pipe organ or two, frescoes, papal tombs... the list goes on. It was really quite interesting and not what I expected.
Outside again, as you walk past the church and around the corner, there is more of the unexpected: An obelisk, apparently the largest standing obelisk in the world.
The octagonal baptistery (above) -- built in AD 440 and the first baptistery in Rome.
And a sweet bell and clock tower (below):
Our hotel was located in a residential quarter of Rome, away from the touristy areas, so it was quite a surprise to find such an amazing church so close by.
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