According to many, this church is where Dante read his ‘De quaestio de aqua e de terra’ in 1320. Situated on the left hand side of the Duomo, S. Elena was built by the archdeacon Pacifico in 813. Its original purpose was a cathedral and was erected on the site of an early Christian basilica, which in turn was built on a Constantinian church. The remains of these two earlier structures are still visible. Inside S. Elena’s is a 14th Century triptych in stone depicting the Madonna, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.
