Venosa Cathedral was constructed 1470 and 1502 by order of Duke Pirro del Balzo, who was responsible for the urban transformation of Venosa in the last decades of the 15th century. The upper part consists of two octagonal prisms, which form the base of the 10-metre high pyramidal spire. The lower part consists of three superimposed parallel epipeds, the first of which has a quadrangular base.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.