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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (16. September) is the feast day of: Priscus of Nocera (3d/4th cent.). Today's less well known saint from the Regno is an early bishop (legendarily, the first bishop) of Nuceria Alfaterna, the Campanian town whose medieval successor was Nocera (later Nocera de' Pagani) and whose modern successors are Nocera Superiore (SA) and Nocera Inferiore (SA). Paulinus of Nola (_carmen 18_, lines 515-18.) tells us that P., though bishop of another city, was also venerated at Nola. Otherwise we know virtually nothing about him. His Acta (BHL 6931) are so late and unreliable that Papebroch elected not to have them printed in the _Acta Sanctorum_ [this is from Domenico Ambrasi's article on P. in the _Bibliotheca Sanctorum_, vol. 10, cols. 1118-20; a supplement or correction from anyone associated with the Papebrosch papers project would be welcome]. P. was buried in the necropolis of Nuceria. Much later, a Benedictine abbey arose on the site and in the 1380s its originally tenth-century(?) church of St. Mark became Nocera's cathedral. In the last century P.'s remains were found behind his altar here; in 1964 these were subjected to scientific evaluation and pronounced to be those of an elderly man who had lived in the third or fourth century. After various earthquake-induced restorations there isn't much medieval left in Nocera's cathedral (located in Nocera Superiore), though in its present form it is still a very harmonious early seventeenth-century building. Nearby, though, is the early Christian church of St. Mary Major, whose baptistery (built with spolia from "pagan" temples) is absolutely stunning. The Swedish Institute in Rome has just held a conference there, providing us with some very nice photographs of both the exterior and the interior (once you get past the obligatory photographs of conferees): http://www.svenska-institutet-rom.org/svenska/nocera%20bilder.html An illustrated Italian-language discussion of this monument is here: http://web.tiscali.it/archemail/1snuce.htm If I remember correctly, this is an exterior view of the complex (site was offline just now): http://utenti.lycos.it/cammino/battistero.htm Best, John Dillon ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html