The Cult of Saint Euphemia, the Patron Saint of Rovinj, and the Venetian Politics of Co-creating Local Identities in Istrian Communities in the 15th Century

Abstract

This article discusses how Venice, in its political representation, valued the relation with the sacred as one of the main strategies for strengthening its political power in Istrian communities. Through associations with the cults of local saints, the Republic participated in the (co)creation of local memory and identity as evinced in the cases of St. Nazarius, the patron saint of Koper, and St. Euphemia, the patron saint of Rovinj. A new impetus was given to their cults in the 15th century after the restitution of their relics as attested by commissions of several liturgical objects made in the Venetian botteghe. The restitution of the relics of St. Euphemia in 1401, here confirmed by the archival research, is a rare documented case in Venetian political and religious practices. The growth of devotion to the saint was prompted by the return of the body, but also by the Venetian custom of developing cults in a coordinated manner, encompassing liturgical celebrations, legends and their visual expressions. This article sheds new light on the role of Venetian officials in the promotion of the cult of St. Euphemia and the authorship of the key illuminations in the Rovinj Illuminated Codex.