Basilica di Santo Stefano

Basilica di Santo Stefano, locally known as Sette Chiese

("Seven Churches") and Santa Gerusalemme ("Holy
Jerusalem"), is the the complex dedicated to Santo
Stefano in Bologna. Built on the basis of an ancient pagan
temple of godess Isis, it was imagined as a faithful copy of
the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Along with New
Jerusalem near Moscow, Basilica di Santo Stefano is one
of the most intact in design and the best-preserved of the
reproductions of Jerusalem in Europe.1
It has been heavily modified and gradually expanded over the centuries, especially after the
Huns invasion in 10th century.
Complex of Seven Churches ows its name to the fact that it consists of seven elements (four
churches, two outdoor spaces and a museum):

 Church of Saint Stephen or of the Holy Crucifix ("La Chiesa dei Crocifisso", 8th century,
presbytery reshaped in 17th century)
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre ("La basilica del Santo Sepolcro", 5th century)
 Church of the Saints Vitale and Agricola ("La chiesa di Santi Vitale e Agricola", 4th
century, rebuilt first in the 12th century)
 Church of the Trinity or of the Martyrium ("Chiesa della Trinità", 13th century)
 Courtyard of Pilate ("Il Cortile di Pilato", 13th century)
 Medieval cloister ("Il Chiostro dei Benedettini", 10th century )
 The Museum of Saint Stephen ("Il Museo di Santo Stefano", 12th century)
As bishop of Bologna during the fifth century (431 – 450), San Petronio built the Church of
Santo Stefano. As he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Places in Jerusalem, he wished to have
similair complex in Italy. In the middle of the 13th century, Municipality of Bologna decided to
raise Petronius to the dignity of the saint of the city. Nowadays he is considered to be a patron
saint of the city.

1
R.G. Ousterhout, The Church of Santo Stefano a Jerusalem in Bologna, Gesta 20, no 2, 1981.