It’s probable that the Vitrana (=Veterana) was a shrine or retreat of the Calabrian-Greek rite, and that on the spot that overlooks the neighborhood of Muscona, on a hill at the shoulder of the castle of Nicastro, there might have been a shrine of Byzantine origin, and that it might have been the Norman Eremberga, and not a Swabian princess (as has been said) who rebuilt the old structure, at the same time switching it to the Latin rite.Was the Church of Saint Mark once the ancient Byzantine cathedral? We have already said that it is not known where that small old Byzantine cathedral stood, but it seems unlikely that the first refugee families in the region could have erect it on the level plain, unhealthful and indefensible, between the ruinous torrents or the rivers Canne and Piazza, where they would have been able to build only some miserable and isolated sanctuary.

They would have preferred the high part of Muscona, and the nearby strip to the east, healthful and secure, from which they could have a timely view of any dangers, and which would have allowed them to prepare their defenses in time. Besides its favorable position, Muscona, as we have supposed, would have been particularly attractive because of the presence a little higher up of the shrine of the Vitrana. But, the town of Torri having been destroyed, the shrine proved insufficient to serve the ancient families on the east side, whose numbers had increased, and for whom provisions would have had to be made by other means.

The small church called Veterana and the ward of Muscona (Nicastro 1923)
Storicitta Collection

The rock on which the castle was built is protected from the rear by two branches of the torrent Canne, and it faces an ample area, towards the valley, that is easier to climb, and which became part of the castle site. At the lower borders of this area, as we have said, to the east towards the torrent Canne, at the same elevation as nearby Muscona, there used to be a small church dedicated to S. Mark, which would have been built, according to Bonacci, in the 14th century, and was desanctified in the 1700s since, by then, it was almost in ruins. This church was privileged to be attached to the dean of the cathedral, and was therefore the cathedral’s senior chapter. As we have said many times before, the population that had grown in numbers after the end of Torri, continued to settle up high, where Muscona had developed, and in the nearby area to the east, rather than on the plain which they would have found unsuitable. The inhabitants on the east side found it difficult to avail themselves of the narrow shrine of the Vitrana, not so much for its distance as for the physical nature of the place, so therefore it did not fully carry out its functions as a point of spiritual and social reference.

Once the settlement had grown after the end of Torri, the life of the community shifted bit by bit towards the east, where it jelled around the church of S. Mark and around those homes that probably also contained the living-quarters of the bishop. It seems plausible to assign the origin of this church to this period, and not to the 14th century as P. Bonacci believes. Bonacci also affirms that it was erected by a secular society (which, therefore, would have existed before the church!). To accept his dating would make it difficult to explain the origin and significance of its role—lay and religious—that was carried out annually in the church and the neighboring area. Instead, our hypothesis is more likely—that the church rose with the transfer of a good part of the population of Torri to Muscona and to its surroundings. Once erected, it ended up carrying out the functions of a cathedral, taking the place of the one in the diocese of Torri.

In conclusion, it is very probable that the very church of S. Mark was the small Byzantine cathedral often alluded to, later substituted by a Latin one that Emberga wanted, and that such is the reason for the high regard that it enjoyed. The hypotheses that have been proposed contrast decidedly with the theories of local historians. However, these rarely mention the churches of the eastern rite that existed in Nicastro itself, when they should have given greater attention to that church of our era in order to reconstruct a more complete history of the diocese. It should be remembered that not only did the Veterana and San Marco belong to the oriental rite according to our hypothesis, but so did other shrines, retreats and tiny churches, so numerous in this territory that they leave evidence in almost all the surrounding towns, and which are mentioned in all the local histories.

(For further study, see to the article by V. FITTANTE, Chiese ed eremi basiliani nella Nicastro bizantina.
Alcune ipotesi, in Incontri Mediterranei, anno 1 (2000), n.1, pp. 79-97)