Saint Romulus of Fiesole ( it, San Romolo) is venerated as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Romulus was probably a local deacon, priest, or bishop of the 1st century. According to tradition, he was a disciple of

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

and had been converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

by the apostle. This tradition states that Romulus became the first

bishop of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole ( la, Dioecesis Fesulana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was created a ...

and was martyred during the reign of

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

along with four companions: Carissimus, Dulcissimus, Marchis(i)anus, and Crescentius. He was not named as a bishop or martyr in documents dating from 966; however, a document from 1028 names him as such. From then on, Romulus was considered a martyred bishop of Fiesole, and his companions were named as Carissimus, Dulcissimus, Marchis(i)anus (Marchiziano), and Crescentius. Their feast day was listed as 6 July in the 1468 Florentine edition of the

Martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

Usuard Usuard (died 23 January, 875) was a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and a Carolingian scholar. His name appears in a list of monks of Saint-Germain-des-Prés written around 841/847 (a declaration of spiritual association wi ...

, and in the 16th century, his name began to appear in the ''Roman Martyrology'', where he was named as a disciple of Saint Peter. As Antonio Borrelli remarks, sometime between the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the eleventh, Romulus was "upgraded" from being considered a

Confessor of the Faith Confessor of the Faith is a title given by some Christian denominations. Etymology The word confessor is derived from the Latin ''confiteri'', to confess, to profess. Among the early church fathers, it was a title of honor, designating those ind ...

to a martyr, possibly by a local abbot named Teuzo. An 11th-century legend associated with him, considered "worthless", makes him an illegitimate son of a woman named Lucerna, who had a child with her father's slave, who was named Cyrus. Like the

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

of ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

legend, this Romulus was also abandoned and suckled by a she-wolf. He was captured, baptized and raised by Saint Peter and Peter's companion Justin. Romulus then evangelized much of central Italy and was put to death by the governor Repertian. The most ancient image depicting Romulus is the 1440

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a "diptych" is a two-part work of art; a "triptych" is a three-part work; a tetrapty ...

Fiesole Cathedral Fiesole Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Romulus of Fiesole, ( it, Cattedrale di San Romolo, ''Duomo di Fiesole''), officially the Cathedral of Saint Romulus of Fiesole, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Fiesole, Tuscany, central Italy. It is the ...

, where he is represented with Saints

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, Peter and Donatus.

References

Books

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External links

San Romolo di Fiesole

Cattedrale di San Romolo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romulus Of Fiesole Bishops in Tuscany 1st-century Christian martyrs 1st-century Romans Year of birth unknown She-wolf (Roman mythology)