Rome Reuters —The remains of what appears to be a medieval palace where popes lived before they made the Vatican their home have been excavated in Rome prior to renovations for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee, the Italian Culture Ministry said on Wednesday. The walls of the complex may have protected the Patriarchio, a monumental basilica envisaged by Emperor Constantine in the square outside the Archbasilica of St John Lateran. Italian Ministry of Culture/Reuters“This is an extraordinarily important find for the city of Rome and its medieval history, as no extensive archaeological excavations have ever been carried out in the square in modern times,” the ministry said. The area around St John Lateran is being spruced up ahead of the Jubilee, a year-long event starting in December that is expected to attract more than 30 million pilgrims and tourists to the Italian capital. During a Jubilee, Catholics can obtain special indulgences, or remission of their sins, if they fulfill certain conditions and do good works or make pilgrimages.

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Persons: Rome, St John Lateran, Emperor Constantine, Emperor Caligula Organizations: Rome Reuters, Italian Culture Ministry, Ministry of Culture, Reuters, CNN Locations: Rome, Roman, Avignon, France, St