Roman Catholic Diocese of Polignano

[2] It has been claimed that a church, dedicated to Saint Peter, existed in Polignano in the 3rd century;[3] Christianity, however, was still an unauthorized and illegal cult until after the Edict of Milan.

[5] In 1659, Ferdinando Ughelli published a work entitled, "Translatio S. Viti cum sociis in territorio Polymniani," which apparently marked the establishment of the diocese and the first bishop, in 672.

In return, Vitus commands her to locate his tomb, and those of his two companions, Modestus and Crescentia,[7] which she was unable to do, building a votive church instead.

With the help of a hermit named John, over a period of twenty years she located the bodies, and buried them in her church.

[8] On the return journey from the Holy Land, a young man appeared on the yardarms, and announced that he was Vitus of Lucania,[9] and on the 24th day, the ship reached Marianum.

They debarked, and sent a messenger to Bari, where they bought horses, and within a week had found the place where the sarcophagi in which the bodies of the saints were resting.

[12] Valentini remarks, "Consequently, scholars have hypothesized that in that same date the church of Polignano might have been raised to the status of an Episcopal See, concomitant with the arrival of Pietro I."

The cathedral was administered by a corporate body called the Chapter, which was composed of four dignities (the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, and two Primicerii) and eighteen canons.

[16] In 1513, Bishop Cristoforo Magnavivo (Magnacurius) (1508–1517) reconsecrated the medieval cathedral, which had undergone extensive restoration.