Basilic of Sainte-Salsa

The Basilica of Sainte-Salsa is perched atop a red sandstone cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, in Tipaza, 60 km west of Algiers. It was erected in the iv century with stones from pagan temples. This place, from the beginning, was named the hill of temples. Discovered by Stéphane Gsell and Abbot Grandidier, the basilica of Sainte-Salsa was adorned with mosaics, of which almost nothing remains today.

The passion of Sainte Salsa is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl driven by Christian faith, while her parents remained attached to paganism. One day, they took her to the hill of temples to attend a festival in honor of an idol in the shape of a bronze dragon with a golden head and eyes sparkling with precious stones. Outraged by the sacrifices and impure celebrations of the adoring crowd, she used the night to throw the dragon’s head into the sea. Once the sacrilege was revealed, the girl was stoned, trampled, and thrown into the sea to remain without a burial. A Gaulish sailor, who had anchored in the port of Tipasa during calm weather, faced a storm that put the ship in danger. That evening, he received an order in his sleep to retrieve the body and give it a burial. He dove into the sea, took the body in his arms, and as soon as the body was out of the water, the sea calmed down. The young girl was buried in a humble chapel on a hill outside the walls. According to the Passion of Sainte Salsa and during the revolt of Firmus, the latter besieging the city of Tipasa without being able to breach the walls, entered the chapel to implore the martyr’s protection and support. His prayers were rejected, his offerings fell to the ground, and his candles were extinguished; he then struck her tomb with his lance. Defeated on the walls of Tipasa in the year 374, he perished shortly after.

The basilica is located about 300 meters outside the walls at the top of the hill. It is very likely that initially, a small chapel was built at this location in the middle of a pagan necropolis to house the saint’s tomb in the family burial site. This chapel was gradually enlarged to transform into a church. The Basilica of Sainte-Salsa was initially square-shaped, 15 meters on each side; the entrance, as usual, opened to the east while the apse faced west, and the church walls were built with dressed stones. Inside, the church consisted of a central nave 7.5 meters wide, flanked by two rows of pillars topped with architraves, and two side aisles each 2.5 meters wide. At the center of this basilica, a well-preserved tomb due to its religious value to the Tipasian community, topped by a semi-cylindrical cippus, presents an epitaph informing us that it belonged to Fabia Salsa, very likely a pagan ancestor of Sainte Salsa.

Sarcophagus of Fabia Salsa in the basilica

In the v century, the entire central nave except for Fabia Salsa’s tomb was occupied by an ornamental mosaic; on the side of the apse, a frame surrounded a commemorative inscription dedicated to Potenti, most likely a bishop of the mid-v century. In the first half of the vi century, the church underwent significant modifications; it was enlarged to reach 30 meters in length, the side aisles were topped with galleries whose stairs still exist on either side of the entrance. To the north, a small door opened in the wall leads to an area martyrum (cemetery of the martyrs) that slopes down towards the cliff. A quadrangular chamber houses an agape table (“mensa”). To the south, the church is flanked by a more sumptuous funerary enclosure and a room “for the fighters”.

Inside the church, Fabia Salsa’s tomb was covered by a base clad in marble plaques and surrounded by a railing. On this base, a marble sarcophagus depicting the legend of Selene and Endymion was placed; due to its central location and the savagery with which it was destroyed, S. Gsell suggested that this sarcophagus contained the venerated remains of Sainte Salsa.

Basilica of Sainte-Salsa (east view)	The hill and the Basilica of Sainte-Salsa
Basilica of Sainte-Salsa (west view)	Christian sarcophagus

The Basilica of Sainte-Salsa is perched atop a red sandstone cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, in Tipaza, 60 km west of Algiers. It was erected in the iv century with stones from pagan temples. This place, from the beginning, was named the hill of temples. Discovered by Stéphane Gsell and Abbot Grandidier, the basilica of Sainte-Salsa was adorned with mosaics, of which almost nothing remains today.

The passion of Sainte Salsa is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl driven by Christian faith, while her parents remained attached to paganism. One day, they took her to the hill of temples to attend a festival in honor of an idol in the shape of a bronze dragon with a golden head and eyes sparkling with precious stones. Outraged by the sacrifices and impure celebrations of the adoring crowd, she used the night to throw the dragon’s head into the sea. Once the sacrilege was revealed, the girl was stoned, trampled, and thrown into the sea to remain without a burial. A Gaulish sailor, who had anchored in the port of Tipasa during calm weather, faced a storm that put the ship in danger. That evening, he received an order in his sleep to retrieve the body and give it a burial. He dove into the sea, took the body in his arms, and as soon as the body was out of the water, the sea calmed down. The young girl was buried in a humble chapel on a hill outside the walls. According to the Passion of Sainte Salsa and during the revolt of Firmus, the latter besieging the city of Tipasa without being able to breach the walls, entered the chapel to implore the martyr’s protection and support. His prayers were rejected, his offerings fell to the ground, and his candles were extinguished; he then struck her tomb with his lance. Defeated on the walls of Tipasa in the year 374, he perished shortly after.

The basilica is located about 300 meters outside the walls at the top of the hill. It is very likely that initially, a small chapel was built at this location in the middle of a pagan necropolis to house the saint’s tomb in the family burial site. This chapel was gradually enlarged to transform into a church. The Basilica of Sainte-Salsa was initially square-shaped, 15 meters on each side; the entrance, as usual, opened to the east while the apse faced west, and the church walls were built with dressed stones. Inside, the church consisted of a central nave 7.5 meters wide, flanked by two rows of pillars topped with architraves, and two side aisles each 2.5 meters wide. At the center of this basilica, a well-preserved tomb due to its religious value to the Tipasian community, topped by a semi-cylindrical cippus, presents an epitaph informing us that it belonged to Fabia Salsa, very likely a pagan ancestor of Sainte Salsa.

Sarcophagus of Fabia Salsa in the basilica

In the v century, the entire central nave except for Fabia Salsa’s tomb was occupied by an ornamental mosaic; on the side of the apse, a frame surrounded a commemorative inscription dedicated to Potenti, most likely a bishop of the mid-v century. In the first half of the vi century, the church underwent significant modifications; it was enlarged to reach 30 meters in length, the side aisles were topped with galleries whose stairs still exist on either side of the entrance. To the north, a small door opened in the wall leads to an area martyrum (cemetery of the martyrs) that slopes down towards the cliff. A quadrangular chamber houses an agape table (“mensa”). To the south, the church is flanked by a more sumptuous funerary enclosure and a room “for the fighters”.

Inside the church, Fabia Salsa’s tomb was covered by a base clad in marble plaques and surrounded by a railing. On this base, a marble sarcophagus depicting the legend of Selene and Endymion was placed; due to its central location and the savagery with which it was destroyed, S. Gsell suggested that this sarcophagus contained the venerated remains of Sainte Salsa.

Basilica of Sainte-Salsa (east view)	The hill and the Basilica of Sainte-Salsa
Basilica of Sainte-Salsa (west view)	Christian sarcophagus