| Saint Reparata | |
|---|---|
Statue of Reparata. Andrea Pisano. |
|
| Born | Caesarea Maritima, Palestine |
| Died | 3rd century |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | Claimed by Nice Cathedral, to which relics were translated in 1690 |
| Feast | 8 October |
| Attributes | Standing alone or near the Madonna, bearing the crown and palm as martyr; dove; banner with red cross on white ground; sometimes with Saint Ansanus[1] |
| Patronage | Nice; Florence |
Saint Reparata (Italian: Santa Reparata, French: Sainte Réparate) was a third century Christian virgin and martyr, possibly mythical, of Caesarea in Palestine. Sources vary as to her age - from 11 to 20-years old - though the Sainte-Réparte cathedral in Nice gives it as 15 [2] [3]. She was arrested for her faith and tortured during the persecution of Decius.[4]
Her persecutors tried to burn her alive, but she was saved by a shower of rain. She was then made to drink boiling pitch. When she again refused to apostatize, she was beheaded.[5] Her legend states that as she fell dead, her spirit emerged from her body in the form a dove.[1] Later elaborations of her legend state that her body was laid in a boat and blown by the breath of angels to the bay now known as the Baie des Anges in Nice. A similar tale is associated with the legends of Saint Restituta; Saint Devota, patroness of Monaco and Corsica; and Saint Torpes.
Evidence of her cult does not exist before the ninth century, when her name appears in the martyrology of Bede.[6] She is not mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea, who recorded the martyrdoms that took place in the Holy Land during the 3rd century.[6]
Her cult became widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the multiple Passiones found in various parts of the continent -especially Italy, where her cult was particularly popular in Florence, Atri, Naples, and Chieti.[6] Numerous painters created depictions of her, including Fra Bartolomeo, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Pisano, Domenico Passignano, and Bernardo Daddi.[6][7]
She remained chief patroness of Florence until the High Middle Ages; Anna Jameson writes that “about 1298 she appears to have been deposed from her dignity as sole patroness; the city was placed under the immediate tutelage of the Virgin and St. John the Baptist.”[1]
She is the patron saint of Nice and a co-patron saint of Florence (with Saint Zenobius). The former cathedral of Santa Reparata in Florence was dedicated to her. Sainte-Réparate Cathedral, in Nice, is also dedicated to her.