Archaeologists working in northern Italy have uncovered the remains of a long-lost church that served as an important religious centre during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The discovery at Altino, near Venice, is also providing new evidence about how the ancient Roman city gave way to the settlements that would eventually form medieval Venice.
The discovery was made by researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice during excavations conducted in September and October 2026, building on investigations carried out the previous year. The team believes it has identified the episcopal church of Altino, along with a neighbouring building that probably served as the bishop’s palace.
Although historical sources had long established the existence of an important church at Altino, archaeologists had never been able to locate its remains. The newly identified complex occupied a substantial portion of a city block in the former Roman settlement.
“For the first time, we can say with a very high degree of confidence where the church and the bishop’s palace of Altino stood,” explains Diego Calaon, the excavation director from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. “Written sources told us they must have existed; now we have archaeological evidence to support this.”
A Church Dating Back 1,600 Years
Photo courtesy Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
The church was a large rectangular building measuring approximately 30 by 20 metres. Unlike many later medieval churches, it had no apse, following an architectural tradition also found at Aquileia, another important Christian centre in the northern Adriatic region.
The building was oriented towards the east rather than following the existing Roman street grid, a feature consistent with early Christian religious architecture. Archaeologists believe its foundations were laid between the late fourth and the first half of the fifth century.
The dating is based on archaeological materials recovered during the excavations, particularly from trenches left behind when the building’s stone and brick were removed for reuse.
The discovery also provides a physical connection to surviving written accounts of early Christianity at Altino. Among the most important sources are letters written by St Jerome to Heliodorus, the city’s first bishop, and to his nephew Nepotian. One letter, written in AD 396, has Jerome describing Nepotian’s care for the church, including its altar, walls, floors, curtained doorways and sacred vessels. This account dates to approximately the same period as the construction of the newly identified building.
Elisa Possenti, co-director of the excavations from the University of Trento, notes that the discovery is changing how researchers understand the city’s early Christian history. “The ongoing research is opening a new chapter in Altino’s history,” she says. “Thanks to these discoveries, the city can now be considered alongside other major episcopal centres in Late Antique north-eastern Italy. What we could only imagine from descriptions in written sources is finally taking physical form.”
The church stood in a neighbourhood originally developed during the reign of Augustus, along a road leading towards the harbour gate and the Sioncello canal. During Late Antiquity, this part of Altino was reorganised into an important Christian quarter.
A Bishop’s Palace and Medieval Cemetery
Photo courtesy Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
One of the most important findings from the 2026 excavations is evidence that the church formed part of a larger religious complex. On its eastern side, archaeologists identified the foundations of another substantial building with internal divisions, annexes and a portico. Its layout and construction suggest that it may have served as the bishop’s palace.
The foundations indicate that the building was probably two storeys high. Researchers suggest that the upper floor may have accommodated members of the clergy, while the ground floor could have contained privileged burials belonging to bishops or other prominent individuals. Remains of Late Antique mosaics provide some support for this interpretation.
The baptistery associated with the complex has not yet been discovered. Archaeologists believe it may lie elsewhere within the city block, in areas that have not yet been excavated.
Evidence of later activity has also emerged in front of the church. During the sixth and seventh centuries, a portico and cemetery containing brick-lined graves were constructed near its façade.
The cemetery is being investigated in collaboration with researchers from the University of Ferrara, including Barbara Bramanti. Many of the graves were subsequently disturbed when their bricks were removed for reuse, leaving human remains displaced.
Researchers plan to undertake anthropological analysis and radiocarbon dating to determine how many people were buried there, establish the different phases of burial and better understand when the complex was dismantled.
Among the smaller discoveries is a container decorated with a cross, providing further evidence of the religious activities that took place at the site.
Roman Roads Used to Build the Church
Photo courtesy Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
One of the more unusual aspects of the discovery concerns the materials used to construct the religious complex. Archaeologists found that substantial portions of the foundations were made from trachyte paving stones taken from Roman roads and reused upside down.
This practice may reveal something important about the political position of Altino’s bishops. Under Late Roman law, roads were protected as public infrastructure. The ability to remove paving stones and incorporate them into ecclesiastical buildings suggests that the bishop had acquired considerable authority over the city’s public spaces.
The discovery therefore offers evidence of the growing influence of the Church in the administration of cities during the transition from the Roman Empire to the early Middle Ages.
Why the Church Disappeared
Photo courtesy Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Despite its considerable size, the church remained undiscovered for centuries because much of ancient Altino’s architecture had been systematically dismantled. Intensive agriculture and land reclamation removed many of the upper archaeological layers, while bricks and stones from abandoned Roman and early medieval buildings were taken away for construction projects elsewhere in the Venetian lagoon.
Consequently, archaeologists working at Altino often find little more than robber trenches, the empty spaces left when foundations and walls were removed. These trenches preserve the outlines of vanished buildings, allowing researchers to reconstruct their original dimensions and layouts.
The identification of the church and neighbouring palace required a detailed reassessment of previous archaeological investigations, including excavations conducted during the 1980s. The work was undertaken by excavation supervisors Jacopo Paiano and Eleonora Delpozzo, who combined earlier findings with the results of the latest investigations.
The first significant evidence emerged during the summer of 2025, when archaeologists uncovered the south-western corner of a building constructed using Roman paving stones. Further excavations in 2026 helped connect these remains to other structures across the site.
New Evidence for the Origins of Medieval Venice
Photo courtesy Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Beyond identifying a long-lost religious building, the discovery is helping archaeologists reconsider how Altino’s population and religious institutions moved into the Venetian lagoon.
According to a longstanding tradition, the inhabitants of Altino fled their city to escape barbarian invasions, eventually establishing new communities on the islands of the lagoon. However, archaeological investigations at Altino and Torcello suggest a more gradual and deliberate process.
Researchers from Ca’ Foscari have established that Torcello originally served as Altino’s port. During the seventh century, a new religious building was constructed on the island, while the episcopal church at Altino was deliberately dismantled.
The researchers believe that the transfer of the bishop’s seat was largely influenced by demographic and environmental changes rather than a sudden flight from invading armies.
Calaon explains the broader significance of the findings: “This analysis allows us to tell the story of the transition from Altino to Torcello and Venice in a new way: not as a sudden flight, but as a long, managed transformation in which the ancient city and its inhabitants actively shaped economic and political decisions. At the same time, the buildings and spaces of ancient Altino became a source of materials that helped create a new way of inhabiting the lagoon.”
The dismantling of the Altino church appears to have taken place by the first half of the seventh century, a chronology consistent with an inscription from Torcello dated to AD 639 and archaeological findings from the island’s baptistery.
Further investigations are already planned, including radiocarbon dating, analysis of the archaeological finds and geophysical surveys of unexplored areas. Researchers hope these will help locate the missing baptistery and establish a more complete picture of the religious complex.
The excavations are being conducted by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with the University of Trento and the Altino Archaeological Park – National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon. The findings provide an important new archaeological link between the Roman city of Altino and the emergence of medieval communities in the Venetian lagoon, offering further evidence of the transformations that preceded the development of Venice.
Archaeologists working in northern Italy have uncovered the remains of a long-lost church that served as an important religious centre during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The discovery at Altino, near Venice, is also providing new evidence about how the ancient Roman city gave way to the settlements that would eventually form medieval Venice.
The discovery was made by researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice during excavations conducted in September and October 2026, building on investigations carried out the previous year. The team believes it has identified the episcopal church of Altino, along with a neighbouring building that probably served as the bishop’s palace.
Although historical sources had long established the existence of an important church at Altino, archaeologists had never been able to locate its remains. The newly identified complex occupied a substantial portion of a city block in the former Roman settlement.
“For the first time, we can say with a very high degree of confidence where the church and the bishop’s palace of Altino stood,” explains Diego Calaon, the excavation director from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. “Written sources told us they must have existed; now we have archaeological evidence to support this.”
A Church Dating Back 1,600 Years
The church was a large rectangular building measuring approximately 30 by 20 metres. Unlike many later medieval churches, it had no apse, following an architectural tradition also found at Aquileia, another important Christian centre in the northern Adriatic region.
The building was oriented towards the east rather than following the existing Roman street grid, a feature consistent with early Christian religious architecture. Archaeologists believe its foundations were laid between the late fourth and the first half of the fifth century.
The dating is based on archaeological materials recovered during the excavations, particularly from trenches left behind when the building’s stone and brick were removed for reuse.
The discovery also provides a physical connection to surviving written accounts of early Christianity at Altino. Among the most important sources are letters written by St Jerome to Heliodorus, the city’s first bishop, and to his nephew Nepotian. One letter, written in AD 396, has Jerome describing Nepotian’s care for the church, including its altar, walls, floors, curtained doorways and sacred vessels. This account dates to approximately the same period as the construction of the newly identified building.
Elisa Possenti, co-director of the excavations from the University of Trento, notes that the discovery is changing how researchers understand the city’s early Christian history. “The ongoing research is opening a new chapter in Altino’s history,” she says. “Thanks to these discoveries, the city can now be considered alongside other major episcopal centres in Late Antique north-eastern Italy. What we could only imagine from descriptions in written sources is finally taking physical form.”
The church stood in a neighbourhood originally developed during the reign of Augustus, along a road leading towards the harbour gate and the Sioncello canal. During Late Antiquity, this part of Altino was reorganised into an important Christian quarter.
A Bishop’s Palace and Medieval Cemetery
One of the most important findings from the 2026 excavations is evidence that the church formed part of a larger religious complex. On its eastern side, archaeologists identified the foundations of another substantial building with internal divisions, annexes and a portico. Its layout and construction suggest that it may have served as the bishop’s palace.
The foundations indicate that the building was probably two storeys high. Researchers suggest that the upper floor may have accommodated members of the clergy, while the ground floor could have contained privileged burials belonging to bishops or other prominent individuals. Remains of Late Antique mosaics provide some support for this interpretation.
The baptistery associated with the complex has not yet been discovered. Archaeologists believe it may lie elsewhere within the city block, in areas that have not yet been excavated.
Evidence of later activity has also emerged in front of the church. During the sixth and seventh centuries, a portico and cemetery containing brick-lined graves were constructed near its façade.
The cemetery is being investigated in collaboration with researchers from the University of Ferrara, including Barbara Bramanti. Many of the graves were subsequently disturbed when their bricks were removed for reuse, leaving human remains displaced.
Researchers plan to undertake anthropological analysis and radiocarbon dating to determine how many people were buried there, establish the different phases of burial and better understand when the complex was dismantled.
Among the smaller discoveries is a container decorated with a cross, providing further evidence of the religious activities that took place at the site.
Roman Roads Used to Build the Church
One of the more unusual aspects of the discovery concerns the materials used to construct the religious complex. Archaeologists found that substantial portions of the foundations were made from trachyte paving stones taken from Roman roads and reused upside down.
This practice may reveal something important about the political position of Altino’s bishops. Under Late Roman law, roads were protected as public infrastructure. The ability to remove paving stones and incorporate them into ecclesiastical buildings suggests that the bishop had acquired considerable authority over the city’s public spaces.
The discovery therefore offers evidence of the growing influence of the Church in the administration of cities during the transition from the Roman Empire to the early Middle Ages.
Why the Church Disappeared
Despite its considerable size, the church remained undiscovered for centuries because much of ancient Altino’s architecture had been systematically dismantled. Intensive agriculture and land reclamation removed many of the upper archaeological layers, while bricks and stones from abandoned Roman and early medieval buildings were taken away for construction projects elsewhere in the Venetian lagoon.
Consequently, archaeologists working at Altino often find little more than robber trenches, the empty spaces left when foundations and walls were removed. These trenches preserve the outlines of vanished buildings, allowing researchers to reconstruct their original dimensions and layouts.
The identification of the church and neighbouring palace required a detailed reassessment of previous archaeological investigations, including excavations conducted during the 1980s. The work was undertaken by excavation supervisors Jacopo Paiano and Eleonora Delpozzo, who combined earlier findings with the results of the latest investigations.
The first significant evidence emerged during the summer of 2025, when archaeologists uncovered the south-western corner of a building constructed using Roman paving stones. Further excavations in 2026 helped connect these remains to other structures across the site.
New Evidence for the Origins of Medieval Venice
Beyond identifying a long-lost religious building, the discovery is helping archaeologists reconsider how Altino’s population and religious institutions moved into the Venetian lagoon.
According to a longstanding tradition, the inhabitants of Altino fled their city to escape barbarian invasions, eventually establishing new communities on the islands of the lagoon. However, archaeological investigations at Altino and Torcello suggest a more gradual and deliberate process.
Researchers from Ca’ Foscari have established that Torcello originally served as Altino’s port. During the seventh century, a new religious building was constructed on the island, while the episcopal church at Altino was deliberately dismantled.
The researchers believe that the transfer of the bishop’s seat was largely influenced by demographic and environmental changes rather than a sudden flight from invading armies.
Calaon explains the broader significance of the findings: “This analysis allows us to tell the story of the transition from Altino to Torcello and Venice in a new way: not as a sudden flight, but as a long, managed transformation in which the ancient city and its inhabitants actively shaped economic and political decisions. At the same time, the buildings and spaces of ancient Altino became a source of materials that helped create a new way of inhabiting the lagoon.”
The dismantling of the Altino church appears to have taken place by the first half of the seventh century, a chronology consistent with an inscription from Torcello dated to AD 639 and archaeological findings from the island’s baptistery.
Further investigations are already planned, including radiocarbon dating, analysis of the archaeological finds and geophysical surveys of unexplored areas. Researchers hope these will help locate the missing baptistery and establish a more complete picture of the religious complex.
The excavations are being conducted by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with the University of Trento and the Altino Archaeological Park – National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon. The findings provide an important new archaeological link between the Roman city of Altino and the emergence of medieval communities in the Venetian lagoon, offering further evidence of the transformations that preceded the development of Venice.
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