When visiting the churches of the Eternal Cit, always be careful, because sometimes not only the main building can attract your attention and your curiosity. In fact, there are churches in Rome that host simply spectacular medieval cloisters, such as San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura or San Paolo Fuori le Mura. Basilicas that are centuries years old which, around the 12th - 13th century, were embellished, also to the joy of the monks who lived there, with wonderful cloisters. Among them, today, I would like to talk to you about that of San Giovanni in Laterano which represents among the most astonishing examples of Roman marble art of the Middle Ages .

With a square plan, this is the largest cloister in all of Rome, with sides that are 36 meters long each. The creators of this marvel are members of the Vassalletto family who, together with the Cosmati, managed to create a real style which, in the Roman Middle Ages, proved to be unrepeatable. The paired columns and pillars that run along the cloister, as well as the polychromy given by the small marble fragments expertly scattered throughout the cloister and the architectural elements give a sense of exaltation and tranquility at the same time! Imagine how the work was handed down from father to son, since Pietro Vassalletto was the first to worry about creating a monumental cloister at the end of the 12th century, under Pope Innocent III. We are in a period in which the pontiffs live in the Patriarchy, the ancient Lateran seat of the papacy. But it was not Peter who completed the work. His son Nicola, in fact, took the reins of the project, completing it in the 1230s during the pontificate of Gregory IX. A cloister that will pay homage to the Vassalletto family, as we are also reminded by the inscription in which we find written: "Nobilis et doctus hac Vassaletus in arte cum patre caepit opus quod solus perficit ipse" . What the father started, the son perfected, and it could not be otherwise since the Rome of the time was fortunate enough to have real dynasties of artisans, at various levels, capable of making the Middle Ages of the Eternal City a dense period from an architectural and artistic point of view.

Let us never forget, therefore, how the so-called dark ages were, instead, dazzled by the beauty of a picturesque and recognizable style. A cloister like this in San Giovanni in Laterano also reminds us of how the artists of the time were skilled reusers and recyclers. In fact, let's think about how the polychrome fragments, in marble or granite, which make this cloister special, also come from ancient architectural elements used by the Romans for their buildings, which fell into disuse and a state of abandonment over the centuries. A skilful recycling work that has made Rome even more exciting and rich, according to the tour guide!