Terapia e taumaturgia nei miracula di sant'Alberto da Trapani

Abstract

The article focuses on the analysis of the miracles of St. Albert from Trapani (1250- 1307), which allow to delineate the main aspects of his cult in the centuries immediately following his demise. The appeal to the saint is mainly due to his thaumaturgical virtus/dynamis, through which many healings occur at the tomb and the places where he was venerated – in Sicily and in Italy. Namely, the healing rituals carried out by means of the aqua sancti Alberti, conveniently prepared and then administered by the friars, are remarkably important in such a manner that allows us to speak about a ‘relic pharmacopoeia’, and through the lamp oil, whose application is however significantly lower than the one attested for water. Furthermore, the article concerns the more general medical facies of the cult of St. Albert, analysing some of the miracles performed in vita and post mortem, equally reflecting on the relationship between medicine and ‘sanctoral’ healing in the 14th century.