 In 1259 a parchment written in Bari by the court under John Peacock contracts, the presence of five witnesses, preserved in Ortona at the Diocesan Library, confirming the veracity of that event, reported, as mentioned, by Giambattista De Lectis, physician and writer Ortona of the 16th century.The relics resisted both the Saracen looting of 1566, and the destruction of the Nazis in the battle of Ortona fought in late December 1943.The basilica was blown up because the belfry was considered a lookout point by the allies, coming by sea from San Vito Chietino.