Lateran Palace

 

The Lateran palace was always a building with multiple purposes. It consists of living space, representative chambers as well as chapels, cloisters, auditoriums and some rooms whose function isn't clear. After the return of the papacy from exile in Avignon the building was still quite run-down, although it had been renovated several times during their abscence. As the seat of the Pope was now located in the Vatican the state of the palace went down even further until Pope Sixtus V. tore down the building completely. He left the foundation as well as the Sancta Santorium and put them together into a complex with the Scala Santa, as a memoir of the old palace. The palace we can see today was erected by Sixtus after that and goes back to the 16th century. Parts are avaible to the public, the building also holds vatican offices. On February 11th, 1929 the Lateran treaty was signed here; a treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. The Vatican accepted Rome as capital of the italian Kingdom, whereas Italy accepted the Vatican as an independent state.