Santo Stefano, Bologna

The basilica of Santo Stefano encompasses a complex of religious edifices in the city of Bologna, Italy. Located on Piazza Santo Stefano, it is locally known as Sette Chiese and Santa Gerusalemme. It has the dignity of minor basilica.

History

According to tradition Saint Petronius, a bishop of the city during the 5th century, built the basilica over a temple of the goddess Isis. The saint wished to have a building that recalled the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The different parts of the complex include:

• Church of Saint Stephen or of the Holy Crucifix (8th century, presbytery reshaped in 17th century), with the Crypt
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre (according to tradition: 5th century)
• Church of the Saints Vitale and Agricola (4th century, rebuilt first in the 12th century)
• Courtyard of Pilate ("Santo Giardino", 13th century)
• Church of the Trinity or of the Martyrium (13th century)
• Chapel of the Bandage ("Cappella della Benda") dedicated to the strip of cloth worn around the head by the Virgin Mary as a sign of mourning.

Pilate's Courtyard recalls the lithostrotos, where Jesus was condemned; it leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the center, a basin called the "Catino di Pilato", a Lombard work from 737-744, bears the following inscription:

UMILIB(US) VOTA SUSCIPE D(OMI)NE D(OM)N(ORUM) N(OST)R(ORUM) LIUTPRAN(TE) ILPRAN(TE) REGIB(US) ET D(OMI)N(O) BARBATU EPISC(OPO) S(AN)C(TE) HECCL(ESIE) B(O)N(ONIEN)S(I)S. HIC I(N) H(ONOREM) R(ELIGIOSI) SUA PRAECEPTA OBTULERUNT, UNDE HUNC VAS IMPLEATUR IN CENAM D(OMI)NI SALVAT(ORI)S, ET SI QUA MUN(ER)A C(UISQUAM) MINUERIT, D(EU)S REQ(UIRET)

Under the portico at the center of a window on a column, a 14th-century sculpted rooster, called the Rooster of St Peter, recalls the biblical story of Saint Peter's denial.