Tegulus

Saint Tegulus (Italian: San Tegulo, Tegolo) is venerated as a member of the legendary Theban Legion, whose members were led by Saint Maurice in the 3rd century.^[1] The center of Tegulus' cult is at Ivrea.^[1] Veneration for Saint Tegulus actually arose at the end of the 10th century, when during the episcopate of Blessed Warmondus (Varmondo), the saint's relics were discovered in a sepulcher situated a short distance away from Ivrea.^[1] The relics were solemnly translated to the cathedral of Ivrea within the city walls, and placed in the chapel of San Giacomo.^[1] The relics were later translated, with those of Saint Bessus, to the chapel of Santissimo Sacramento.^[1]

According to local tradition, Tegulus survived the decimation of his Legion but was eventually beheaded on the road to , at the spot later occupied by the chapel of Santa Croce, which was built in the 14th century.^[1]

However, nothing certain was known of him, though he may have been a local Christian martyred for his faith during the last imperial persecutions;^[1] his cult was linked with that of the Theban Legion to lend antiquity to a local saint about whom nothing was really known.^[2] Damiano Pomi theorizes that the relics may have been the remains of a soldier that were mistaken for those of a Christian martyr.^[1] The name Tegulus, as Pomi also theorizes, may in fact not have been his name at all, but a reference to the building material commonly used for Roman graves: the tegula or tile.^[1]

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External links[]

• (in Italian) San Tegulo (Tegolo)