The main Palladian façade is the work of Alessandro Galilei, from 1736. The first stone was laid by Pope Clement XII on December 8, 1735. It has five large arches opening on the narthex, and is crowned by c. 7 meters high statues of Christ, Sts John the Baptist and John the Evangelist and other saints. The Loggia of Blessings is in the center. From it, a newly elected Pope gives his blessing on the day that he first takes possession of the cathedral. The façade faces the east, as the basilica was built before the tradition of placing the altar in the east had taken hold in Rome.