Before Venantius was killed, he was scourged, burned with flaming torches, hanged upside-down over a fire, had his teeth knocked out and his jaw broken, thrown to the lions, and tossed over a high cliff.

His 11th century Acts state additionally that he managed to briefly escape from Camerino and hide at Raiano, where a church was later dedicated to him.

The cult of Venantius became popular: his image appeared on coins and his name in litanies; springs near the basilica, which were associated with the saint, were used by lepers and people with peptic ulcers to cure their afflictions.

In 1259, during the destruction and sacking of Camerino by the troops of Manfred of Sicily, the relics of Venantius were transported to safety to the Castel dell'Ovo at Naples.

In the 17th century, Pope Clement X, who was a former bishop of Camerino, further contributed to the spread of his cult: he raised the saint's feast to the level of a double rite and composed hymns for Venantius' office.