In the municipality of Jesolo, approximately 2 kilometres from the town centre, is the archaeological site known as Antiche Mura (the ancient walls).

Here are the remains of the Cathedral of Saint Mary and the church named for Saint Maurus, located in the now-vanished dioceses of Equilium.

It is said that during the Venetian Republic Saint Mary’s Cathedral was second only in size to St. Mark’s Basilica.

Today all that remains for us to admire is the floor, a corner of a wall and the square base of the bell tower with its crypt.

Excavations show how the cathedral is built on a pre-existing church from the 6^th-7^th century.  

There is a particularly fine mosaic floor, which was part of the old church of the façade and although we cannot reconstruct the architecture, we know that there was a projecting facade and an interior with three naves.

However, we no longer know what the bell tower looked like or how high it was.  

The lack of information is due to the damage caused to the site during bombing in the First World War. According to documents that have come to light, the cathedral walls were intact before that time.

Other relics from the Roman and Paleochristian eras found at the site are today on display in the museums of Altino and Aquileia.

Near the cathedral are the remains of the Church of San Maurus, covered in vegetation.

After careful restoration, we can now admire some relics at the permanent archaeological museum in the municipality of Jesolo.