The Church of Santo Stefano: A "Jerusalem" in Bologna

The complex of churches dedicated to Santo Stefano in Bologna is the closest to the original of the numerous existing Romanesque copies of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This study will attempt to clarify the architectural and functional relationship of S. Stefano with its prototype. Rebuilt in the twelfth century in a period of close contact with the Holy Land, S. Stefano bears a close resemblance to the Holy Sepulchre as restored by the Byzantines in 1048. The Bologna complex included a centrally-planned church of S. Sepolcro and a chapel of S. Croce; each contained imitations of the major relics of Jerusalem, and, like those at the Holy Sepulchre complex, the two buildings were joined by an open, colonnaded court. Elsewhere in Bologna, there were copies of the Mount of Olives and the Church of the Ascension, as well as a Valley of Josephat, Pool of Siloam, and Field of Aceldama. The intention, it appears, was to create a comprehensive, topographical copy not just of the Holy Sepulchre, but of the city of Jerusalem. The extent of the Romanesque copy, and the numerous dedications, suggest a special liturgical function for the Bologna shrines during Easter Week, related to the celebration in Jerusalem.