The Church of Santa Cristina is one of the most beautiful in Bologna. Here, many valuable works of art may be found and at present the church is an important music center that every year, from October to May, organizes festivals with great performers. The Church also hosts the Schola Gregoriana Benedetto XVI, managed by the Olivetan monk Dom Nicola Bellinazzo, whose aim is to encourage the knowledge and spread of Gregorian chants.
The church closed and opened several times during the napoleonic era and then, after the Italian unification it became a military warehouse. In 2008 it was finally restored and used as a music hall and as the headquarters of the gregorian chant school.
The origins of the church may be traced back to 1247 when the Camaldolese nuns founded the Convent of Santa Cristina “della Fondazza”. The church was raised in 1602 by Giulio della Torre and features four chapels at each side of the nave, where many statues and paintings may be found: the statues of Saints by Giuseppe Mazza and Giovanni Tedeschi and the only sculptures by the painter Guido Reni, as well as some pictures dating back to the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century, such as “L'Ascensione” by Ludovico Carracci, “L'adorazione dei pastori” by Giacomo Raibolini and “La Visitazione” by Lucio Massari.
Thanks to the peculiar shape of the high altar, the whole structure is a sort of musical instrument; as a matter of fact, at its sides there are two doors on the top of which two windows opens to the choir, a room located behind the apse from which the nuns' voice could be clearly heard from each part of the church.
On top of the Baroque bell tower (that dates back to 1692), there used to be a big copper statue of Santa Cristina which was later replaced by Carlo Francesco Dotti by a ball and a cross, after the statue was damaged by a lightening.

At present, the Church of Saint Cristina is part of the cultural, artistic and museum itinerary Genus Bononiae. Musei nella Città Source: website Genus Bononiae. Musei nella Città