- Piazza Santo Stefano
- the Crocifisso
- Santo Sepolcro
- Santi Vitale e Agricola
- the Cortile di Pilato
- the cloister
01What it is
The complex of Santo Stefano is known in Bologna as the Sette Chiese, the Seven Churches. Tradition says Saint Petronius founded it in the fifth century as an image of the holy places of Jerusalem. Rebuilt and merged over a thousand years, it is now a sequence of connected churches, a courtyard and a cloister, and you walk through it as one route.
02The route through it
You enter through the Crocifisso, the church on the square. From it you pass into Santo Sepolcro, an octagonal church built around a tomb shrine that recalls Christ's in Jerusalem.
Beyond it is Santi Vitale e Agricola, the oldest part, all bare brick and reused Roman stone, and then the Cortile di Pilato, an open courtyard with an eighth-century basin at its center. The walk ends in a quiet two-story cloister.
Note These are churches in use. Dress and voice accordingly, and expect parts to close during services.
03The square in front
Piazza Santo Stefano is a long triangle of cobbles lined on both sides by palaces and porticoes. It is one of the most beautiful public spaces in the city, and on a quiet evening it is the calmest.
