medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (23. February) is also the feast day of:
Romana, venerated at Todi (early 4th cent., supposedly). According to
her Vita (BHL 7296), R. was the Christian-influenced daughter of a Roman
city prefect. To avoid marriage and thus preserve her virginity, she
secretly left her home and fled with angelic assistance to Mount
Soracte. Here she found pope Sylvester hiding in a cave, prostrated
herself before him, and sought baptism. Marvelling at R.'s angelic
appearance (_nam -- we are told -- decor animi, dignitatem quamdam
eximiam corpori affundebat_), the refugee pope granted her wish. R.
then headed off in the direction of Todi but soon settled down in a set
of caves where she lived in isolation for several months, subsisting on
plant food and on water. The odor of her sanctity in time wafted on to
Todi, some of whose Christians came out and formed a little eremitical
community around her. R. died here at the age of sixteen, on a 23d of
February in some year during the reign of Constantine. Her parents came
out from Rome and buried her on the site, where her cult continued to be
maintained.
Readers of the Donation of Constantine will remember from that document
Sylvester's hiding out on Mount Soracte. Recent scholarship accords the
remainder of this story approximately equal credit. Baronius entered R.
in the RM on the basis of a copy of her Vita sent to him from Todi. He
also used a form of words that generalizes slightly from an inscription
at her monastery church on Mount Soracte identifying the spot where R.
was baptized by Sylvester, lived a celestial life, and was noted for
miracles. That monastery (at today's Sant'Oreste [RO])is now a ruin:
various views of it may be found on these pages:
http://www.peticone.it/il%20monte%20Soratte.htm
http://www.avventurasoratte.com/santaromana.htm
http://www.prolocosantoreste.com/romana.htm
In 1301 remains said to be R.'s were translated to Todi and deposited,
along with those of other early Tudertine saints, in its Franciscan
church of San Fortunato. An English-language of this pile, begun in
1292 and completed (except for the upper part of its facade) in the
early fifteenth century, is here:
http://english.todionline.it/discovertodi/sanfortunato.php
and various views of it are here:
http://www.todi.net/fortunato.htm
http://www.moveaboutitaly.com/umbria/todi_san_Fortunato_it.html
http://www.todionline.net/scopritodi/sanfortunato.php
http://tinyurl.com/kl6uj
Interior:
http://tinyurl.com/onxkt
http://www.thais.it/architettura/Gotica/HR/345.htm
http://www.thais.it/architettura/Gotica/HR/346.htm
Best,
John Dillon
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