In the archaeological complex of S. Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, the remains of the grand imperial palace inhabited by Helena, mother of Constantine, after the victory at the Milvian Bridge (312 AD) are preserved, transforming and expanding the residence that belonged a century earlier to the Severan emperors.
Elagabalus, in particular, had built imposing sporting structures there remembered as the Castrense Amphitheater and the Varian Circus.
Of the actual residence, the Sessorium of Christian sources, there remain the hall used as a chapel for the preservation of the Cross, the grand apsidal hall improperly called the “Temple of Venus and Cupid,” significant remains of frescoed and mosaicked domus; conversely, the sparse remains of the Severan baths restored by Constantine’s mother do not appear to belong to the imperial property but to public use.
