ABSTRACT
Saints’ relics were very precious for the Christians. Around 874, an Alaman of Emperor Louis II’s army stole some saints’ remains from a Campanian church that had been abandoned for fear of the Saracens, and he donated them to a German monastery. When the Normans assaulted northwestern Africa in the twelfth century, it was the Saracens’ turn to flee, and Muslim authors do not fail to recount how the peoples of that region abandoned their homes at the news of those enemies’ imminent arrival. The duke of Naples commanded the destruction of Castrum Lucullanum, located outside the city walls, because it was difficult to defend; he also did not want to give the enemy a fortified base. For protecting Rome and preventing another pillage of St. Peter’s, Pope Leo IV had the city walls repaired and walls built around the basilica, and Emperor Lothar made a drive to raise money to finance their construction.
