Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

This basilica near the Lateran was founded in the fourth century within an imperial palace to house relics of the Passion brought from Jerusalem by Saint Helena, mother of Constantine. A chapel at the rear displays fragments said to come from the True Cross and other venerated relics, gathered in a modern reliquary chapel. The Baroque facade and oval vestibule contrast with the ancient origins of the church, and a medieval bell tower rises alongside.