The site was the Sessorium, an imperial palace begun by Septimius Severus and finished by Elagabalus. The article credits Helena, mother of Constantine, with choosing it as a residence and starting its conversion into a basilica around 320. The infobox gives consecration around 325. The original hall was rectangular, lit by twenty windows. In the 12th century Pope Lucius II restored it in Romanesque form, and the Cosmatesque pavement dates from then.
The Baroque rebuild came under Pope Benedict XIV between 1740 and 1758. Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini designed the facade, and Corrado Giaquinto painted the vault. The church is 230 feet (70 m) long and 121 feet (37 m) wide.
A relics chapel built in 1930 by Florestano Di Fausto holds part of the Titulus Crucis, whose authenticity is disputed, two thorns from the Crown of Thorns and a finger of St. Thomas. The article gives no visiting hours.
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