Saints and Miracles

Italy has a Pantheon of patron saints. There is a saint for every profession and a saint for almost all occasion and problems. Do you even know that there is a patron saint against stiff neck? Yes, the name of this patron saint is Saint Ursanne, whose feast day is December 20.

There is also a patron saint against twitching. Saint Bartholomew, the Apostle, is the patron saint for this slight nuisance. There are many more patron saints for various purposes. There are more saints than there are number of days in the calendar.

Yes, these are considered more serious than Italian ski resorts, but are interesting nonetheless. Aside from a Pantheon of saints and their respective sacred religious feasts, Italy is also known for miraculous relics. One interesting miraculous relics in Italy is the blood relic of Saint Januarius. The blood of Saint Januarius is the main tourist attraction of the Cathedral of Naples. The interesting about this blood contained in an ampoule is that it turns liquid from solid form. This phenomenon has been going on since the 14th century. The transformation is publicly shown three times a year. However, recent scientific studies have duplicated the phenomenon using basic chemistry.