Medieval Palace of the Popes Unearthed in Rome

ROME, ITALY—According to a Reuters report, a structure thought to have been a medieval palace has been uncovered in the square outside the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, which serves as the seat of the pope as the bishop of Rome. The site includes walls thought to have surrounded the Patriarchio, a monumental basilica built after Emperor Constantine’s declaration of tolerance for the Christian religion within the Roman Empire in A.D. 313. The structure was expanded between the ninth and thirteenth centuries to house the church’s popes, who moved to Avignon, France, in the early fourteenth century. The papal court returned to Rome in 1377. To read about the Arch of Constantine, go to “A Monumental Imperial Biography.”