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Archaeological discovery in northern Italy: An early Christian church comes to light after 1,600 yearstranslated

July 9, 2026 · 1 min read

A previously unknown large 1,600-year-old early Christian basilica has been discovered in the Italian town of Oderzo, in the province of Treviso in northern Italy.

According to a report by Archaeo Reporter, the discovery was made in the area of the former fishery in the city of Oderzo, following preventive archaeological research started in November 2025, before a project to build new buildings.

The excavations brought to light a large hall with three naves, monumental walls, tombs and polychrome mosaic floors, and specialists believe that the remains could belong to the oldest Christian church known so far in the city.

An incredible surprise The presentation of the preliminary results took place at a public meeting organized in Oderzo, where Mayor Maria Scardellato emphasized that the discovery "is really an incredible surprise for Oderzo".

The representative of the Superintendency for Archaeology, Maria Cristina Vallicelli, testified that the scope of the discovery surprised even the specialists: "We would never have expected to find what we discovered in reality."

The research is coordinated by the archaeologist...

Source: Агентство Basilica (română) · Read the full story →

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💬 Comments (6) 🌐 Show original

Მ

მარიამ მამულაშვილი

It is truly amazing that a 1600-year-old basilica appeared so simply on the site of a former fish warehouse. Reading the mosaic floor and the three-nave hall, I immediately imagined how the early followers of Christ stood there. It's a good thing that they started digging before the construction works, otherwise it would have remained underground for a long time.

David Turner

Mă bucur că au început săpăturile preventive înainte de construcție, altfel probabil că mozaicul ăla policrom și cele trei nave ar fi rămas sub noile blocuri. E impresionant cum o fostă pescărie din Oderzo ascundea cea mai veche biserică cunoscută de acolo. Sper ca lucrările să continue și să vedem mai multe poze cu mormintele și pereții.

Αντώνης Αντωνίου

Good thing they started the excavations before they built the new buildings, otherwise they would have built on top of the mosaic in all three aisles. It is impressive that the oldest church of Oderzo came out under an old fish warehouse. I hope they manage to highlight her properly.

Თ

თამარ წიკლაური

Mariam, the three-nave hall and the polychrome mosaics are truly amazing. It's good that it turned out to be in a fish warehouse, otherwise they would have built new houses and we wouldn't know anything at all. What do you think, maybe something earlier is buried in that place?

Ა

ალექსანდრე დოლიძე

Maria, the hall with three naves and the mosaic also surprised me, especially that it was located in a former fish warehouse. It's good that they started digging in time, otherwise it would have really remained under the ground. Do you think early Christians often gathered there or was it a smaller community?

Ვ

ვახტანგ ნოზაძე

The Tamar, the three-aisled hall and the mosaics are really remarkably well preserved. The place of the fish warehouse was saved, otherwise new apartments would be built and everything would remain underground. I wonder if there is a pagan shrine from Roman times there?