Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome: All Year

The Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, or the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, was founded as a wing of Constantine’s palace in 320 AD and is one of the seven pilgrimage churches in Rome. In this patriarchal basilica, St. Helen, the mother of the emperor decided to conserve relics of the final period in life of Jesus, and the ground was filled with soil from the Holy Land. This was what gave the minor Basilica its name, since it figuratively has a place in Gerusalemme. On the other side, the Legend says that St.Helen conserved the true cross of Christ in this very church.

Santa Croce has been restored numerous times and has been modified from its early Christian appearance to a Romanesque style in the 11th century, following the 16th-century Baroque architecture of today that was designed by two students of the ingenious architect Borromini, Gregorini and Passalacqua. The facade and interior was made in the 18th century and has the movement of late Baroque style.

What used to be the old monastery connecting to the Basilica is now a hotel, The Domus Sessoriana. From the hotel’s roof terrace you can get a look over the Monastic gardens behind the church, and the Castrence Amphitheater which now holds The Cistercian Garden, gated by  colored glass made by Jannis Kounellis. The ancient amphitheater joins with the Aurelian walls that encloses the seven hills of Rome.

Visiting Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is an experience that offers more to it than meets the eye.

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, 00185 Roma