In Roman times, south of the Via Postumia, there was a pagan necropolis, where even the first Christians buried their dead; here developed the cult of the brothers Felice and Fortunato de Rainoni, martyred in Aquileia in the Domitian period. Towards the end of the 4th century a simple ecclesiae hall of about 10X16 meters was erected; simple in structure but with a rich musile floor, still visible inside the basilica. In 452 the hordes of Attila attacked and devastated the city and razed the aula ecclesiae to the ground which was rebuilt by mt. 24X16.5 with three naves. At the beginning of the eighth century the Benedictines settled in the basilica which they dedicated to the saints Vito and Modesto, dear to them; the year 802 the emperor Charlemagne visited the basilica donating objects and privileges.
In 899 the Hungarians half-destroyed and burned the basilica. Rodolfo, bishop of Vicenza with a privileium of 983 confirmed the Benedictines and granted them a large donation for the reconstruction of the church. The terrible earthquake of January 3, 1117 upset the upper Italy and semi-destroyed the basilica; Abbot Alberto immediately began the reconstruction. Under the rule of the Scaligeri and Visconti, the church slowly declined. In 1532 Bartolomeo D'Alviano, to increase the defenses of the city, proposed its demolition, fortunately not carried out. It was in the second half of 1600, in the middle of the Baroque period, that the image of the church was totally upset. The facade was covered in two-tiered marble at the base of which was an atrium with a three-arched portico. Portico and facade were crowned by balustrades with statues; the interior was also renovated and the ceiling was coffered. The presbytery was separated from the area reserved for the faithful, raised on neo-Romanesque arches crowned by a rich balcony. The walls, not covered with marble, were plastered and the basin of the apse was frescoed by Giulio Carpioni with the subject "the coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Spirit" The lack of maintenance, the action of time and the earthquake of 1695 degraded the structure which was restored again in the first half of the 1700s. In the Napoleonic era with the suppression of the brotherhoods and all religious orders, the Benedictines were expelled and in 1806 the complex passed to the state property of the city. Finally in 1935, thanks to Monsignor Giuseppe Lorenzon, all the 18th and 19th century additions were demolished and the basilica was brought back to the 12th century version, as it is visible today. Adriano Bevilacqua
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