santuario, parrocchiale, Santi Martiri Argentanesi

The Santuario dei Santi Martiri Argentanesi stands on the site of an earlier church, built over the tomb of four early Christian martyrs: Dominata and her three sons. Their blood, shed at the ancient settlement of Argentanum, gave this place its name, "Luogo Santo". During a wave of persecution, the Roman authorities imprisoned them for their faith and condemned them to death; their bodies were buried beyond the River Fullone, where a small church dedicated to one of them, San Senatore, was later raised. In the Norman period, the relics were moved, first to the Cathedral of San Marco, then to the Church of the SS.ma Trinità in Venosa. In 1845, the Bishop of San Marco secured the return of a substantial portion of the relics, which now rest partly in the Cathedral and partly here, in a reliquary beneath the main altar. Beside the sanctuary grows a very rare olive tree, the Olea Europaea Leucocarpa or white olive, whose oil, low-smoke when burned, was used for sacred lamps and imperial coronations.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.