TheHolyCity 113
de’ Bonacolsi, under the title ‘‘captain of the people,’’ had a vermilion ban-
ner created with an image of Saint Peter, and so co-opted the patron of the
independent commune. Under this banner, he enrolled for his regime two
thousand armed men from the ‘‘better people’’ of the city.^66 But in 1303 ,
Reginaldo and Butirone expelled their cousin and his brother Guigino with
help from the Scaligeri of Verona. It was merely a feud within the ruling
family, but the victors wanted its date, the Feast of the Precious Blood, to be
forever celebrated by a Mass and offerings in the church of Sant’Andrea.
The republican-minded people were not impressed; the observances disap-
peared.^67 In contrast, when on 30 November 1323 the Guelfs of Cortona
finally drove out the imperial party, which had ruled the city since 25 April
1261 (the feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist), the citizenry demanded a
change of patron. Out went the imperialist-favored Saint Mark, and in came
the republican-favored Saint Margherita. Her incorrupt body, preserved in
her anchorhold at the church of San Basilio, became the focus of communal
devotion. The cult at her tomb endures to this day. She had even chosen to
die, the Cortonese remembered, on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter—an
excellent Guelf saint!^68
Patrons andPatriotism
From antiquity Christians dedicated their churches to saints, usually the
Blessed Virgin, an apostle, or an ancient martyr. In the Italian cities the
oldest cults often centered on the titular of the cathedral. The role of Saint
Reparata as the patroness of the Florentine duomo gave birth to a cult,
which generated miracles and finally led to the composition of a pious but
wholly fictitious vita.^69 The development was typical. By the early communal
period, cities celebrated the patrons of the duomo and other city churches
with religious rituals. Secular observances honored them as well; markets
occurred on their feast days.^70 The splendor of these observances fostered
civic pride. The chronicler of Faenza, Maestro Tolosano, fondly remem-
bered his hometown’s celebration of its patron, Saint Peter the Apostle, in
1184.^71 On 29 June of that year Pope Lucius III presided at the apostle’s vigil
and at solemn Mass in the duomo. He granted an indulgence of twelve days,
not only to those present, but in perpetuity to all who visited the cathedral
on the feast. Their shared patron united little Faenza with mighty Rome,
the center of the world.
66 .Annales Mantuani( 1293 ), ed. Philip Jaffe ́,MGH.SS 19 : 31.
67. Mantua Stat. ( 1303 ), 6. 39 , 2 : 152 ; on popular resistance to princely co-opting, see ibid., 168.
68. On these events, see Menesto`and Rusconi,Umbria, 56 – 58.
69. On the cult of Saint Reparata at Florence, see Raffaello Morghen, ‘‘Vita religiosa e vita cittadina
nella Firenze del duecento,’’La coscienza cittadina nei comuni italiani nel duecento.
70. For examples of such devotions at Bergamo, see Valsecchi,Interrogatus, 109 – 14. On the market of
Saint Alexander, see ibid., 122.
71. Maestro Tolosano,Chronicon Faventinum, 99 ( 1184 ), p. 91.