Discover Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

Included in the circuit of the Seven Churches that pilgrims anciently walked on foot, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme rises on the remains of the Sessorium, an imperial residential complex begun in the first half of the 3rd century AD which also included the Circus Varianus and the Amphitheatrum Castrense.

At the beginning of the 4th century a woman moved in and changed its purpose. The complex was chosen as a dwelling by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, who transformed the great atrium into a chapel to keep in it the relics of the Cross she had brought to Rome. The basilica was built around that chapel, which is why it is also called "Eleniana" or "Sessoriana".

It was radically rebuilt twice. In 1144 Pope Lucius II restructured it, adding a portico and erecting the fine brick campanile still existing. But its present appearance is due largely to the works commissioned in the eighteenth century by Benedict XIV from Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, who created in the facade one of the masterpieces of Roman barocchetto, with evident Borrominian derivations.

Inside, twelve colossal columns divide it. The interior runs in three naves separated by twelve colossal ancient granite columns, four of which were incorporated into pillars in the eighteenth-century restructuring. At the centre of the apse, decorated in the semi-dome with paintings attributed to Antoniazzo Romano, stands the Tomb of Cardinal Francesco Quiñones by Jacopo Sansovino.

The relics are the reason it exists. The chapel of Saint Helena, at the end of the right nave, is decorated by a mosaic — a sixteenth-century remaking by Melozzo da Forlì or Baldassarre Peruzzi of an original of the age of Valentinian III — and is said to hold beneath its pavement the earth of Calvary brought by Helena with the relics, which are housed in the nearby Chapel of the Relics.

And its garden is an amphitheatre. In the area of the Amphitheatrum Castrense, for centuries an appurtenance of the basilica and its convent, the kitchen-garden of the Cistercian monastery was recreated in 2004; its iron and glass gate is the work of Jannis Kounellis.

The facade is the set piece. Turismo Roma records that the present appearance of the basilica is due in large part to the works commissioned in the eighteenth century by Benedict XIV from Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, who created in the facade one of the masterpieces of Roman barocchetto with evident Borrominian derivations.

Behind it stands a twelfth-century tower. Pope Lucius II restructured the basilica radically in 1144, adding a portico and erecting the fine brick campanile still existing.

The nave columns are ancient and four of them are hidden. The interior is divided into three naves by twelve colossal ancient granite columns, four of which were incorporated into pillars in the eighteenth-century restructuring.

Its oldest architecture is a house. The basilica rises on the remains of the Sessorium, an imperial residential complex begun in the first half of the 3rd century AD, and the church exists because the great atrium was transformed into a chapel.

Two further Roman buildings belong to the complex. The Sessorium also included the Circus Varianus and the Amphitheatrum Castrense — the latter still enclosing, since 2004, the recreated kitchen-garden of the Cistercian monastery, behind a gate by Jannis Kounellis.

It was built by conversion, not by foundation. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, chose the Sessorium as her dwelling and transformed the great atrium into a chapel to hold the relics of the Cross; the basilica was then built around that chapel.

The ground already carried an imperial complex. The Sessorium was begun in the first half of the 3rd century AD and included the Circus Varianus and the Amphitheatrum Castrense.

Its twelfth-century rebuild added the tower. In 1144 Lucius II restructured it radically, added a portico and erected the brick campanile.

The eighteenth century rebuilt the front and swallowed four columns. Passalacqua and Gregorini, for Benedict XIV, produced the barocchetto facade, and in the same restructuring four of the twelve ancient granite columns were incorporated into pillars.

And its most recent construction is a garden and a gate. In 2004 the Cistercian monastery's kitchen-garden was recreated in the Amphitheatrum Castrense, its iron and glass door the work of Jannis Kounellis.

Is there a charge? No. Turismo Roma publishes no admission price for the basilica, the Chapel of the Relics or the Museum.

When is the Chapel of the Relics open? Every day during the basilica's opening hours — but it closes 15 minutes before weekday, eve-of-feast and feast-day Masses celebrated at the High Altar, and during weddings or funerals.

What are the mass times? 08.00 and 18.30 Monday to Friday; 18.30 on Saturdays and eves of feasts; 8.00, 10.00, 11.30 and 19.00 on Sundays and feast days.

Is there a museum? Yes, reopened, with access from the Sacristy every day 10.00-12.00 and 16.30-18.30.

What was here before the church? The Sessorium, an imperial residential complex begun in the first half of the 3rd century AD, which also included the Circus Varianus and the Amphitheatrum Castrense.

Why is it called Eleniana or Sessoriana? Because Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, chose the complex as her dwelling and transformed the great atrium into a chapel for the relics of the Cross, and the basilica was built around that chapel.

Who built the facade? Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, commissioned in the eighteenth century by Benedict XIV — one of the masterpieces of Roman barocchetto, with evident Borrominian derivations.

And the campanile? Pope Lucius II erected it when he restructured the basilica radically in 1144.

What is under the chapel of Saint Helena? It is said to preserve beneath its pavement the earth of Calvary brought by Helena to Rome with the relics.

Is the statue of Saint Helena ancient? Yes, in a way — it is a Roman original found at Ostia, transformed into a Saint Helena by the addition of the cross and the substitution of the head.

Who is Nennolina? The Servant of God Antonietta Meo (1930-1937), a child who lived a few hundred metres away and died at six and a half of osteosarcoma; her remains have rested at the foot of the Chapel since 1999.

Where is it? Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 12.