The newly discovered Basilica delle Marignane occupied a special position among the suburban church buildings of Aquileia. It is located on the most important road link from the upper Adriatic to Rome. This special position is expressed in its orientation to the south-east, which differs from the other churches, its close proximity to the late antique city wall, its architecturally comprehensible development from a simple memorial church to a basilica with a recessed apse and finally in its design as a transept basilica with apses. This suggests a repeated reception of eastern architectural influence. The stages of development were divided into four periods, dating from the second half of the 4th century to around the middle of the 6th century AD. It is possible that the Basilica delle Marignane was traditionally home to a right-believing Eastern Roman congregation and, when Justinian I reconquered Upper Italy, this church build-ing, transformed into a transept basilica with apses following Eastern Mediterranean model, was therefore a monumental testimony to Byzantine supremacy.