Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, Segovia

The church of the True Cross is a Roman Catholic church located in the San Marcos district of Segovia, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. Built in the early 13th century, it is one of the most characteristic examples of churches influenced by Crusader architecture. Originally known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the building is situated to the north of the city, near the convent of San Juan de la Cruz, on the slope leading to Zamarramala, a town of which it was, for centuries, the parish church. The church is widely regarded as one of the most significant examples of centrally planned Romanesque architecture in the Iberian Peninsula. Its distinctive dodecagonal plan, organised around a central two-storey aedicule, has been interpreted as a deliberate evocation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, reflecting the symbolic and devotional importance of the Holy Land in medieval Christian culture. It is one of the best-preserved churches of this style in Europe. It was declared a Spanish Property of Cultural Interest on 4 July 1919 and is currently administered by the Order of Malta, which uses it for religious ceremonies.