Beneath the Basilica and the houses of the Laterans
The series of recent and ancient excavations in the Lateran area have made it possible to delineate more precisely the boundary of this specific area of the Caelian Hill close to the Aurelian Wall, which in ancient times saw the meeting of Via Celimontana, Via Tuscolana, Via Asinara and another artery identified with the present-day Via dell'Amba Aradam.
The presence of the Celimontano acqueduct meant that the Lateran soon became a rich residential area. Numerous aristocratic families close to the imperial court settled in this area: the Domizi, Quintili, Annii, Calvisi, Pisoni and, indeed, the Laterani. In addition to the particular beauty of the Lateran houses, the historical events linked to this family also led to their name being chosen to indicate this very area of the city. Plaucius Lateranus, consul in 65, took part in the Pisan conspiracy against Emperor Nero, which, once foiled, led the sovereign to punish the plotters.
As Tacitus and Juvenal recall, the conspirators were condemned to death and their property was expropriated. Later on, Maxentius used this area to build the private residence of his sister Fausta, who was to marry Constantine in the year 307.
Following the edict of Milan in 313, by which the emperor Constantine granted freedom of worship to Christians, the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Saviour at the Lateran began at the behest of the sovereign himself on land belonging to his wife, commonly known as the Domus Faustae.
The excavations beneath the Basilica in the years 1876-1886, 1934-1938, and 1957-1958 uncovered the building structure on top of which the Lateran Basilica was erected in the Constantinian age. In addition to this, the Julio-Claudian building belonging to the Laterans and the Pisonians was also found, as well as the barracks commissioned by Septimius Severus for the select cavalry guard, the Castra Nova Equitum Singularium. This military corps, however, would be disbanded by Constantine himself following the betrayal of the emperor by these soldiers in favour of Valerius Licinianus.