Local sanctity in late-mediaeval Venice: convergences and divergences

The cults dedicated to Venice’s contingent of homegrown saints and beati, although quite conventional in the context of late mediaeval sanctity more generally, take on various local idiosyncrasies as a result of the Venetian government’s officious policies. This paper will explore the cults dedicated to Giuliana of Collato (d. 1262), Leone Bembo (d. 1187), Pietro Acotanto (d. 1187?), Contessa Tagliapietra (d. 1308), the Dominican priest Giovanni (d. 1348?) and Maria Sturion (d. 1399) in order to shed light on the character of Venetian sanctity. Although the extant evidence is meager, the correlation between the cultic personalities that does emerge in the hagiographic record is remarkable. It becomes clear that an official standard of sanctity, which drew upon broader devotional trends on the peninsula yet remained acceptable within the unique Venetian milieu, influenced the unique character of local cults generally in Venice