The basilica of Saints Felix and Fortunatus is a church in Vicenza, currently a parish church, whose origin dates back to the 4th–5th centuries; its current Romanesque appearance is mainly due to the reconstruction of the 12th century and the restorations of the 20th century.
For more than a millennium, the basilica was attached to the most important Benedictine abbey in the Vicenza area.
Early history
On the site where the basilica stands today, there existed in Roman times a pagan necropolis—located just outside the walls, along the Via Postumia route—which extended over a rather large area, partly marshy,Found today between the neighborhoods of San Felice, San Lazzaro, dei Ferrovieri and Gogna in which numerous burial artifacts were found, such as cappuccina tombs, aedicule tombs, sarcophagi, stelae and inscriptions, coins, and grave goods.
Following the Edict of Milan that allowed Christian worship, the faithful of Vicenza reserved an area in the necropolis for the burial of their deadThe cemetery, from the Greek koimetérion, meaning dormitory, awaiting the resurrection and constructed a building there for worship: the finds represent the first evidence of the Christian faith in the city. The stele of the Adoration of the Magi, the most important evidence of the Christian cemetery, also dates to this period—the end of the 4th century.Mario Mirabella Roberti, I musaici, in . Some sarcophagi are in the space in front of the basilica, others inside, and others at the Santa Corona Archaeological Nature Museum; the stele with the Adoration of the Magi is at the Diocesan Museum
The early church
The early church—built in the style typical of the earliest Christian worship halls in the Po Valley region between the mid and late 4th century—was a single hall measuring , identifiable through a layer of red marble in the floor of the present church,This part of the mosaic can be seen in the nave of the later medieval church and was decorated with a rich mosaic pavement consisting largely of votive offerings, partly preserved and brought to light, along with part of the foundations, in the mid-20th century.
This building shows how the Christian community of Vicenza had already achieved considerable importance in the first half of the 4th century, as evidenced by the fact that a senatorial family also contributed to the construction of the mosaic floor. and also
The tripartite basilica After the removal of the relics of the martyr Felix from Aquileia, probably around 380, the church proved insufficient for the needs of the now numerous faithful, and it was decided to build a more imposing structure.
Thus, between the end of the 4th and the middle of the 5th century,The dating is uncertain: according to for archaeological reasons (the good quality of the materials and their assembly in the foundations) and historical reasons (the possibility of constructing such a building in peace, before the barbarian invasions, and perhaps also the influence of St. Ambrose), the most probable date must be related to the last two decades of the fourth century. According to Mario Mirabella Roberti, Gli edifici, in , however, the most likely date of construction is the first half of the 5th century, judging from the mosaics. a full-fledged basilica was built, with a solemn and majestic layout, with three naves separated by two rows of pillars, measuring 45 × 22 meters; like the earlier church, the nave was also paved with mosaicsThese are the mosaics that were discovered in the south aisle of the present church. and extended into a rectangular apse.
In front of the basilica, a 7m deep atrium, the narthex, as a resting place for penitents and a reception place for pilgrims visiting relics, a large quadriporticus, and propylaea formed a 41.5 × 25 m extension; all in all, it was an imposing building, 86.5 m long.. The plan was similar to that of St. Ambrose in Milan, also a large suburban basilica dedicated to the veneration of the city's saints.Mario Mirabella Roberti, op.cit. p.27, believes that the elements found are too scarce to define the surface structures, which may have been added between the 5th and 9th centuries.
A sacellum and baptistery were also erected near the basilica.
The sacellum or Martyrion
The sacellum—one of the most remarkable and best-preserved early Christian buildings in Italy—was built shortly after the mid-5th century and was originally meant to correspond to the Martyrion intended to house the basilica's relics. Later, probably in the 7th–8th centuries, it was dedicated to Mary:According to the dedication to Mary, contemporary with that of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunciata, is due to the action of the Eastern missionaries who came to this region to fight against Arianism at the time of the Lombards. in front of the altar, above a cornice supported by four columns, it read:Attilio Previtali, Il Martirion, in provides an analysis of the dedicatory epigraph
It continued to function as a place of worship for the martyrs until 1674, when the complex was transformed into a service room for the adjoining monastery; windows were opened and the original small windows closed, the portal remodeled, the marble covering removed, and the martyrs' remains moved to the crypt of the basilica and placed in opulent Baroque-style gilded wooden reliquaries..
The baptistery
The foundations of another building with an octagonal plan, found in the 1943 excavations, by its structure, planimetric position, and elevation plane in relation to the ancient church, lead to the conclusion that it was the ancient baptistery,Other authors have considered this building to be a private mausoleum built at the same time as the basilica.. Because of its presence, some historiansFirst Francesco Lanzoni, Le origini delle diocesi antiche d'Italia, Roma 1923, then , but also Mario Mirabella Roberti, in op.cit., pp. 34–35 have believed that San Felice was the first cathedral of Vicenza.
However, there is no record in the available documentation that the city was already an episcopal see in the 5th century, as were many others in the Venetiae; among the numerous records of the presence of Venetian bishops at councils in northern Italy, there is no mention of a native of Vicenza until the late 6th century, when Orontius is mentioned.
It can be assumed that the construction of two churches, Santa Maria Annunciata inside the city and San Felice outside the walls, may have corresponded to the needs of the Christian community at that time: communal prayer, catechesis, and the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments, which, however, could also be celebrated by the bishop of another city on a pastoral visit or by a priest delegated by him. It is likely that, until the end of the 6th century, the community of Vicenza referred to the bishop and diocese of Padua, a city on which it also gravitated from the civil point of view, and became autonomous only after the establishment of the Lombard Kingdom, of which Padua was not initially a part..
Middle Ages
During Lombard and Carolingian rule (6th century to 9th century), the basilica was enriched with ornaments that are still partly preserved in the masonry.
The flourishing period of the Benedictine abbey
During the 8th century, Benedictine monks settled in San Felice, building an abbey that became the core of this religious order's activity in Vicenza and which they dedicated to Saints Vitus and Modestus, patrons of their order.The references in the documentation are not clear, but according to Giovanni Mantese, Mario Dalla Via, I benedettini a Vicenza, in , the church remained dedicated to Saints Felix and Fortunatus, and the monastery to Saints Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia. Charlemagne's visit to Italy included a stop at the monastery in Vicenza, to which he made a generous donation.According to the Vicenza historian Pagliarino, it was in 802, while for Francis Barbaranus it was in 773,
In the year 899, during one of their raids, the Hungarians destroyed part of the city and set fire to the abbey; the monks scattered to several places.. It took a long time to rebuild, so much so that, when Bishop Rudolf was installed in Vicenza around 967, the buildings were still in ruins; this is what is stated by the chronicler Sigebert of Gembloux, who also recalls how Rudolf had to give to the bishop of Metz some precious relics of Saints Leontius and Carpophorus in order to obtain a donation from Emperor Otto I aimed at rebuilding the church and monastery..
A few years later, with one of the most important acts whose documentation has been preserved, the Privilegium of 983, Bishop Rudolf, a staunch supporter of the Cluniac Reforms, donated to the Benedictines of the Abbey—or rather partially returned, since these were goods already in their possession that had passed to the Bishop at the time of their expulsion by the HungariansBishop Rudolf's document reads: "I confirm that all the lands I have been able to find belonged to the former abbey, and I have added as much as I could under the circumstances".—a considerable amount of landed property, cum famulis et decimis, ranging from Ponte Alto to the mons famulorum i.e. Maddalene, from Brendola to Marostica. Together with the lands, he entrusted to the Benedictines the administration of the territory, the pastoral functions, and the reclamation of large swampy areas; it was the period of the encastellation and the monastery of San Felice also provided itself with a defensive tower.
The Benedictines of San Felice then founded numerous churches and small monasteries, also dependent on the mother abbey, generally placed along the ancient Roman roads leading out of the city. Traces of this remain in the toponymy and naming of numerous churches dedicated to Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia, the patron saints of this monastic order. The minor abbeys of San Pietro in Vivarolo and San Giorgio in Gogna depended on San Felice, along with a number of hospices, such as those of San Martino, San Bovo and San Nicolò in Borgo San Felice; however, it is very difficult to find exact references as there is almost no documentation left..
The Abbey of San Felice continued to receive numerous donations; of particular note is that of Bishop Jerome in 1013, who confirmed the privilegium of his predecessor Rudolf thirty years earlier; from this act it appears that the church and the monastery, recently rebuilt, were again half destroyed and abandoned, probably due to episodes of violence whose origin is unknown; like Rudolf, Jerome also wanted to restore religious life to San Felice, as a stronghold of the faith in the territory. A very similar act is the privilegium of Bishop Astulf in 1033, but its authenticity is doubtful. Bishop Liudigerio very much appreciated the two Benedictine monasteries of St. Felix and St. Peter:. the Benedictine monasteries in that period of the early Middle Ages were the center of religious life, outside the city walls, much more than the diocesan churches.
Until the 12th century the monks, with the help of the famuli, worked directly on land reclamation. From this period on, they began to cede them to emancipated serfs or small feudal lords; at first this cession increased the early patrimony, but already in the 13th century the fragmentation of the lands led the abbey to an administrative crisis. The Benedictines – as happened to the bishops in the same period – fell into the hands of usurers and were forced to sell many important properties, including those of San Vito and Malo.Giovanni Mantese, Mario Dalla Via, op.cit., pp. 139–40, 143–45