ABSTRACT
In the late-mediaeval period, proclaiming the sanctity of a person meant acknowledging that he or she alone rose above the mass of society in virtue and holiness. It meant exalting their uniqueness and their superiority in living a civic life in Christian perfection and consequently recognising their special contribution both physical and mystical to the success and glory of the local community. This chapter explores the visual and textual evidence associated with several Venetians exalted by the government as new saints. Rather than proceeding chronologically, the analysis begins with the most explicit evidence of the Venetian government’s attitude to new saints: three fourteenth-century deliberations from the Great Council, the Republic’s ruling body, regarding the sanctity of Francesco Querini and Giacomo Salomoni. On 29 August 1372, the members of the Maggior Consiglio put forward a decree to petition the papacy for official recognition of the sanctity of the Patriarch of Grado Francesco Querini.
