Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Rome)

 church, basilica, ancient, place with historical importance, Order of Cistercians, Roman Catholic church

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is a church dedicated to the True Cross, built to house the Passion Relics brought to Rome by St Helena. The church was consecrated about 325 ad, in an older building that was rebuilt to house the relics. The floor was packed with soil brought by ship from the Holy Land.
It was at first known as the Basilica of Helena
The present name was given to it in the Middle Ages.

It was restored by Pope Gregory II (715–731) and Pope Hadrian I (771–795).
In 1049, the church was given to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino. They moved to San Sebastiano fuori le Mura in 1062, and the Canons Regular of San Frediano of Lucca were installed by Pope Alexander II.
In 1561, the Carthusians were transferred to Santa Maria degli Angeli, and Lombard Cistercians from the congregation of San Bernardo were installed. They still serve the church, but the monastery once connected to the church has been converted into barracks.
Pope Benedict XIV had it rebuilt in the Baroque style between 1741 and 1744.
The roads that Pope Sixtus V had planned in the early 16th century, linking Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano and this church, were finally completed at this time.
The façade is from the 18th century, in the Baroque style. If you walk around the church, it is still possible to see the original Roman masonry in some places. you can also see the ruins of a medieval cloister adjacent to the church.