One of the few completely frescoed Sardinian churches, an architectural monument that is the result of nine centuries of reconstructions and restorations, the last complete one of which was in 1996-99. The parish church of Sant'Elena stands in the historic centre of Quartu Sant'Elena, elevated to the dignity of a minor basilica in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI. Saint Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine the Great, is the patron saint of the third largest Sardinian city by inhabitants. In 1826, Quarto added its name to the official denomination, which eventually became Quartu Sant'Elena in 1862. The oldest cult building dedicated to the saint was built in the mid-12th century in Romanesque style, and large enough for the needs of Quarto domino, one of the villae from which the current city derived. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, a larger church in Sardinian-Catalan Gothic style was built. Next to the façade there was an octagonal bell-tower, the pride of the city at the time as it was unique in the district of Cagliari.