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Cimitile, one of the sixteen hamlets dependent for a long time on the city of Nola before becoming autonomous municipalities, is famous for its complex of early Christian basilicas, among the most important in Southern Italy. The basilicas were built on the ancient Coemeterium (cemetery, from which the town's name derives) of Nola. Near the pagan necropolis (from the 2nd century AD), the first Christians buried their dead; the first bishop of Nola, Saint Felix, was buried here and a first sanctuary developed around his tomb. In 394, another bishop of Nola, St Paulinus, built the Basilica Nova (401-403) at the tomb of St Felix, then devoted himself to restoring the existing buildings and building accommodation for the monastic community he founded. The main nucleus of the complex dates back to the 3rd century A.D., with the construction of the sanctuary of Saint Felix commissioned by Pope Damasus (around 368), later referred to as Basilica Vetus, but it was in the 4th century that Cimitile became a place of pilgrimage, thanks to the work of Saint Paulinus and following news of miracles occurring at the tomb of Saint Felix.Other basilicas were added to the Basilica Nova over time: St Stephen's (6th century), St Thomas' (6th-7th century), St John's (12th-13th century), built by recovering the apsidal part of the New Basilica, possibly damaged by an earthquake or flood; the Basilica of the Holy Martyrs (late 9th-early 10th century), that of St Calionio and the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels (first half of the 14th century), while in the 18th century a large part of the Basilica Vetus of St Felix was demolished to build the new parish church.