The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is located on the site of an original Gothic church from the 13th century. A vestibule with circular vaulting was preserved from a building constructed in 1458, along with the bottom part of the tower. After a fire in 1635 the church was reconstructed in Baroque style (D. Rossi and D. Orsi) and also from 1746-1755 by J.K. Kosh. The church is used for religious purposes. A large reconstruction of the truss and facade was done by the Municipal Office in 1995.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.