The archaeological investigations conducted under the scientific direction of the Special Superintendence of Rome, directed by Daniela Porro, prior to the redevelopment works of Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, have yielded an important and complex stratigraphy, including wall structures dating back to the ninth and thirteenth centuries AD, possibly attributable to the patriarchate. Constantine ordered the construction of the patriarchate in the fourth century A.D. C. to replace the barracks of the Equites Singulares, the emperor's horse guard who had supported Maxentius. The patriarchate was initially a monumental basilica, but it was expanded and renovated numerous times during the Middle Ages. It served as the papal seat until the pontiff's official seat was transferred to Avignon in 1305. In this case, the discovery is extremely significant for the city of Rome and its medieval history, as extensive archaeological excavations in the square have never been conducted in modern times.
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