Il culto ‘inventato’ di un patrono dimenticato: san Pietro martire a Verona

In the first part of the essay Maria Clara Rossi presents the history of the early settle- ment of the Friars Preachers in Verona, highlighting the difficult path of the cult of st. Peter martyr from the Scaliger age to the beginning of Venetian rule. Ettore Napione’s investigation highlights both the slow and delayed reception of the figure of st. Peter

martyr in artistic depictions and the difficulty of the second saint of the Order of Preachers assuming the role of civic protector of the city of the Adige River, despite the efforts made by the Friars Preachers of the convent of St. Anastasia from the 14th century onward. Attempts to impose the cult as co-patron of Verona, along with st. Zeno, occurred mainly in the 15th century, when the municipality started the construc- tion site to enlarge the basilica of the Friars Preachers. It was not until the 16th century that it became customary to depict st. Peter martyr next to st. Zeno, but such attempts did not have the desired effect, as evidenced by the church’s unfinished facade and the carved panels with stories of the saint that were never completed.