Un eroe locale. L'effrazione della tomba di Francesco Petrarca (1630)

This essay deals with the trial held in the years 1630-’31 following the forcing of the sarcophagus of Francesco Petrarch by the Domenican friar Tommaso Martinelli. The trial documents let us see the possible motivations that led to the removal of some of the poet’s bones. The episode is connected to the image of this local hero, which grew up over the course of the centuries within the community of Arquà following the cult that had arisen among the numerous Italian and foreign travellers who stopped at this small village in the Euganean Hills to express their admiration for and devotion to the remains of Francesco Petrarch.