Rijeka’s St. Vitus Cathedral is the only Baroque rotunda of monumental proportions built on the Croatian land. The construction of this church began in 1638 and was designed by the Jesuit architect G. Brian. The famous Venetian church Santa Maria della Salute served as a model. An elevated spot was chosen for the construction of the church of St. Vitus, at the heart of the then medieval urban tissue. Initially there was a small church of the same name, dedicated to the city’s patron saint. The Jesuit order, who inspired the project, decided to use the cult of the ancient Magic Crucifix from the original church, which according to a popular legend, began to bleed when certain Petar Lončarić threw a stone on it furious over his gambling loss.