Aquileia, a small town in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy, is now a modest place with barely 3,000 inhabitants. However, its past is among the richest and most significant in ancient history. Founded in 181 B.C. as a Roman military colony, Aquileia became an important economic center of the Roman Empire.

Its strategic position, at the end of the Amber Road and on the way to the province of Noricum (today’s Austria), made it a key point for both trade and military expansion.

A recent discovery reinforces the importance of Aquileia during the Byzantine Empire. Researchers from the Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, have uncovered a previously unknown early Christian basilica.

Aquileia byzantine basilica
The location of the newly discovered church on the city map of Aquileia. Credit: OeAW-OeAI

This basilica, large in size and built in a monumental Byzantine style, offers new insights into the religious development and geopolitical role of Aquileia in Late Antiquity.

The discovery was made possible through geophysical measurements and geo-archaeological drilling conducted in an area west of Aquileia, near the Via Annia, a vital trade route that connected Aquileia with major centers such as Milan and Rome. These explorations revealed the existence of a 4th-century ecclesiastical building, which over time was expanded into a large, three-aisled basilica.

According to archaeologist Stefan Groh, this is the first major construction uncovered in decades of intensive research in Aquileia. The basilica was likely built in the mid-6th century, during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 527 to 565 A.D.

The architecture of the basilica shows notable parallels with religious structures of the Byzantine Empire, similar to those found in Egypt, Turkey, and the Balkans. This supports the idea that Justinian was undertaking a large-scale building program to consolidate his dominion and expand Byzantine influence in Italy.

Aquileia byzantine basilica
Geophysical measurements in the area of the newly discovered church. Credit: OeAW-OeAI

The design of the basilica, with a transept and apses, is characteristic of the Eastern Roman Empire. Similar examples of this style can be found in places as diverse as Bethlehem, the Lycian coast in southwestern Turkey, and Durrës in Albania. The building in Aquileia was not merely a place of worship but a symbol of Justinian’s reconquest efforts in the Upper Adriatic region.

The orientation of the basilica, facing southeast towards Constantinople and Jerusalem, can be interpreted as a manifestation of Justinian’s response against the Arian Goths, who had been expelled from the region.

The project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), provides a detailed view of how architecture and religion intertwined within the context of Byzantine-era politics and warfare.

The influence of Aquileia and its basilica can even be seen in nearby regions, such as in the episcopal church of Teurnia in Austria, which was adapted in the 6th century with an architectural design similar to that of Aquileia’s new basilica.

SOURCES

Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)

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