Dust from the tombs of Emidio: Protection against earthquakes.
[Touch relic] / [Earthquake] / [Amulet] / [Sant’Emidio]. Polvere raccolta sotto l’Urna, ove reposano le Ceneri del Glorioso Martire S. EMIDIO primo Vescovo di Ascoli e Protettore singolarissimo contro del Terremoto, come pure della Grotta, ove ricoveravasi e nella quale dal luogo del suo martirio col reciso capo in mano volle condursi a depositar da se stesso il suo Corpo. La sudetta polvere è stata Benedetta col di lui Santo Braccio. S.l. [Ascoli]: s.n., 1826. [8.4 x 6.1 cm], [1] letterpress envelope, closed with wax seal on verso. Well preserved.
$850
Unrecorded letterpress envelope containing (according to the text) dust collected both from the vicinity of the urn containing the body of Saint Emygdius (Emidio, Emidius, etc.) (c. 279-c. 309) housed in the Cattedrale di Sant’Emidio in Ascoli and from the place where the saint was originally buried in the ‘cave’ (“Grotta”), i.e., the site of the present-day tempietto of Sant’Emidio alle Grotte in Ascoli.
The tempietto of Sant’Emidio alle Grotte was built 1717-21 at the saint’s sacred caves to honor him for sparing Ascoli from the 1703 earthquake which destroyed many neighboring towns. Dust from Emidio’s holy sites was later packaged for sale to pilgrims as amulets against the earthquakes so common in the Marche. This is thus an interesting example of a ‘touch’ relic (also called a ‘contact’ or ‘secondary’ relic), i.e., an item that contacted or was in the vicinity of a saint’s primary relic (e.g., a body part or personal item) or another holy item or locale.
The envelope is closed with a wax seal that is visible on the verso. The seal is broken, but a small packet of folded paper containing the dust remains inside the envelope.
The full text here can be translated: “Dust collected under the Urn where rest the ashes of the Glorious Martyr St. EMIDIO, first Bishop of Ascoli and singular Protector against earthquakes, as well as from the Grotto where he took refuge and where he chose to lead himself from the place of his martyrdom, with his severed head in his hand, to deposit his body. The aforementioned dust was blessed with his Holy Arm.” The envelope was certified by the aptly named official Emidio Nardinocchi.
This particular letterpress envelope is not recorded by OCLC, KVK or OPAC/ICCU, and similar packets of anti-earthquake Emidio dust from Ascoli are only rarely encountered today.
*G. Fabiani, “Il terremoto del 1703 e il tempietto votivo di S. Emidio alle Grotte,” in Artisti del Sei-Settecento in Ascoli, pp. 74-83; C. Marchegiani, “Il sacello ascolano di Sant’Emidio alle Grotte, rupestre Arcadia del ‘Protettore ne’ Tremuoti’,” in Quaderni dell’Istituto di Storia dell’architettura: Realtà dell’architettura fra materia e imagine: Per Giovanni Carbonara: Studi e ricerche, D. Esposito and V. Montanari, eds., pp. 561-66; A. Galli. Sant’Emidio, la sua vera immagine.