TheHolyCity 119
of his love and concern for ‘‘la mia citade di Bologna.’’ The life turns Pe-
tronio into the primary author of the civic rights that the Theodosian forger-
ies of the 1250 s enshrined.^113 Petronio founds both the independent
commune and its university.^114 The life claims that the ‘‘evil emperor Theo-
dosius’’ had destroyed Bologna because its citizens had—with justice—killed
his tyrannical vicar. The author did not invent this incident out of whole
cloth: he modeled it on the emperor Frederick Barbarossa’s leveling of the
city walls as punishment for the murder of his legate Boso during the Lom-
bard Wars for communal independence.^115 In the life, Petronio—the busy
communal patron doing his civic duty—intercedes with the new ‘‘good em-
peror,’’ Theodosius II. He boldly remonstrates with the emperor, convinces
him to enlarge Bologna’s contado, and prevails upon him to grant the city
perpetual independence from imperial control.^116 His political work at home
complete, Petronio voyages to the Holy Land, Constantinople, and Rome,
and then returns to Bologna with a great haul of relics. He enshrines them
in the Santo Stefano complex, which he has redesigned and reconstructed
after the model of the holy places in Jerusalem.^117 Later, with the help of
Saint Ambrose, the good bishop maps out the city center by erecting four
monumental crosses to indicate the quarters of the medieval city. He dedi-
cates the crosses to apostles, virgins, martyrs, and confessors, placing suitable
relics in each.^118 Petronio is not only Bologna’s patron but its chief architect
and urban planner.^119 Before returning to Milan, Saint Ambrose joins Pe-
tronio in excommunicating all, emperors included, who might harm the city.
Worn out by his labors, Petronio dies and is buried at Santo Stefano. In
conclusion, the vita laments, using the words of Jeremiah, that the city had
for so long forgotten so great a father. The Bolognese commune had itself
reasserted its independence, thrown off imperial tyranny, nurtured its uni-
versity, rebuilt its walls, and modeled its shrines on the earthly Jerusalem.
Bologna became the image of the heavenly city. It came to possess all the
relics necessary to become an ‘‘urban reliquary.’’ The vernacular vita pres-
ents Petronio as the sole actor in all these endeavors. He is the celestial
validation for the accomplishments of the republican regime.
Cities and their patrons had a reciprocal relationship. The saints in
heaven protected their cities by intercession with God; the cities on earth
- Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2060, cc. 29 – 31 , fols. 11 r– 12 v; Corti,Vita, 26 – 29.
- Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2060,c. 30 , fol. 12 r; Corti,Vita, 27 – 28.
- Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2060, cc. 19 – 24 , fols. 7 v– 9 v; Corti,Vita, 17 – 21. Cf. Bologna,
Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 1437, fols. 260 v– 262 r;Vita S. Petronii, 2. 15 – 18 ,AS 50 (Oct.ii), 459 – 60 ; Lanzoni,
San Petronio, 233 – 35 .CCB:B( 1163 ), 34 , records the historical murder and Barbarossa’s revenge. On the
vitae and this incident, see Pini, ‘‘Origine,’’ 153 , and Lanzoni,San Petronio, 46 – 48 , 57 – 70. On the anti-
imperial flavor of the Petronio cult, see Golinelli,Citta`e culto, 79 – 81. - Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2060,c. 29 , fols. 11 r–v; Corti,Vita, 26 – 27.
- Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2060, cc. 31 – 39 , fols. 12 r– 17 r; Corti,Vita, 28 – 41.
- Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria,ms 2060, cc. 41 – 45 , fols. 17 r–v; Corti,Vita, 42 – 43.
- See Lanzoni,San Petronio, 149 – 50 , on how this changes the focus of the Latin life.