San Ponziano

On the patron saint's anniversary, the reliquary containing the skull of the Saint, after being kept in the Cathedral for three days, is carried in procession with horses and riders along the city streets to be brought back to the Basilica of San Ponziano.

Ponziano, a young man from Spoleto from a wealthy family, was martyred for his Christian faith around 175 AD, during the persecution ordered by the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. According to legend, he was arrested and when the judge asked his name he replied: “I am Ponziano, but you can call me Cristiano”.

He was then subjected to various tortures: he was taken to the amphitheatre of Spoleto to be mauled by lions, but the animals remained indifferent and allowed themselves to be stroked; he was made to walk on hot coals, but this time too he remained unharmed; they isolated him without food and water, but he was fed by angels. Finally, he was beheaded on the now underground Ponte Sanguinario, which crossed the Tessino stream. His head bounces three times as far as Colle Ciciano, where a source of pure water began to flow and where the church dedicated to him was later built.

Tradition has it that on 14 January bread should not be cut with a knife, as the gesture would renew his martyrdom.

The saint is invoked as a protector against earthquakes. It is said that a tremble accompanied his decapitation and that he uttered the prophecy "Spoleto will tremble but will not collapse". His cult, already formed, became even stronger when southern Umbria was devastated by a long sequence of earthquakes that began on 14 January 1703, since the fact that there were no victims in Spoleto was attributed to his protection.