medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (25. May) is also the feast day of:
Canio of Atella (4th cent.?). Today's less well known saint from the Regno
is attested to for this date in the (pseudo-)Hieronymian Martyrology as
follows: _Atellae in Campania Canionis_ ("At Atella in Campania,
Canio"). His inclusion among the saints of the roughly contemporary
mosaics (5th-/6th-cent.; now perished) of the basilica of San Prisco at
Capua indicate a late antique veneration in Campania. But we have no Acta
for him prior to the tenth century, when the Neapolitan hagiographer Peter
the Subdeacon produced his _Passio sancti Canionis episcopi et martyris_
(BHL 1541d) in which C. is said to have been an African bishop imprisoned
at Carthage ca. 290 CE (under Maximian and Diocletian), liberated by an
angel, and miraculously transported to Atella, where he evangelized the
locals and was eventually martyred. As is certainly the case with other of
his accounts, Peter is here probably fleshing out and stylistically
enhancing an older account: that Canio was already considered a bishop who
fled persecution in Roman Africa is perhaps shown by his appearance in the
even more legendary _Passio sancti Castrensis_ (11th-/12th-cent.?) as one
of twelve African bishops exiled under the Vandals who found refuge in
Campania.
In the latter half of the 11th century Peter's account (or one very similar
to it) formed the basis of a new version of the _Passio sancti
Canionis_ accompanying the translation of C.'s remains from now-decayed
Atella to Acerenza in Basilicata (BHL 1541), a city recently taken from the
Byzantines by the Normans and ruled initially by members of the same Norman
family who had established themselves at Aversa, the Campanian fortress
town that replaced nearby Atella. In 1080 the bishop of Acerenza, who was
now styled archbishop and had metropolitan authority over a considerable
part of Robert Guiscard's new domains, conducted a solemn _inventio_ of
Canio's remains as part of the opening phase of his construction of
Acerenza's new cathedral, dedicated to Mary of the Assumption and to St.
Canio. This is now the primary locus of Canio's cult. Atella is no more
(though some of its Roman remains are still visible) and most of it lies
under today's Sant'Arpino (CE), whose patron saint, Elpidio, another of the
twelve bishops of the _Passio sancti Castrensis_, is traditionally
celebrated there on 24. May though his actual _dies natalis_ is 1.
September. Canio does get his due at Sant'Arpino's civic festivals in July
and September, though, and his liturgical feast there is followed by
tomorrow's Sagra del Casatiello, when locals prepare the world's largest
(as certified by the Guinness Book of Records) casatiello, a rich pastry
often served at Easter and including among its delights prosciutto,
peppers, and whole eggs. The venue for this celebration is adjacent to the
local church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which latter incorporates a late
antique structure (possibly an oratory) now known as the Romitorio San
Canione ("St. Canio's Hermitage") and whose facade is shown here:
http://www.comune.santarpino.ce.it/html_file/romitorio.htm
(I _think_ Canio is the saint on the left).
Peter the Subdeacon's _Passio sancti Canionis episcopi et martyris_ and the
related text from Acerenza are both edited by Antonio Vuolo in his
_Tradizione letteraria e sviluppo culturale: il dossier agiografico di
Canione di Atella (secc. X-XV)_ (Napoli: M. D'Auria, 1995). A history and
overview (with photographs) of Acerenza's cathedral is here:
http://www.acerenza.com/cattedrale/cattedrale1.html
http://www.acerenza.com/cattedrale/catint1.html
http://www.acerenza.com/cattedrale/catint2.html
More and better photographs of the same structure are here:
http://www.basilicata.cc/chiese/acerenza1/index.htm
(these are enlargeable and captioned; for "la chiesa" keep clicking on
"continua" or on "avanti" to view all the photo sets; Canio's remains are
of course in "la cripta" but this, in technical terms, is "all baroqued up").
Thais has an exterior photo showing some of the apses:
http://www.thais.it/architettura/romanica/schede/sc_00145.htm
Best,
John Dillon
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