First stop - Church of Santa Maria del Voto
Saint Valerian, the first Patron Saint of Forlì and certainly the most controversial, lived in Roman times in today's Romiti district, where the Church of Santa Maria del Voto now stands. He lived as a “romito”, that is, as a hermit. We describe his history as controversial and uncertain because, although he was attributed miraculous deeds and is remembered as an expert exorcist and skilled preacher, in 1967 the Sacred Congregation of Rites decided to cancel his feast day, previously on May 4 of the liturgical calendar.
The reasons for this decision derive from doubts about the saint’s identity as over the centuries he had become confused with the soldier and martyr from Forlì who went by the same name and was already celebrated every 22 November. This version would seem to corroborate the legend according to which, after being hired by the Forlì army, the soldier Valerian fought in Romagna against the Goths and died in battle in the current neighbourhood of San Varano. His relics, which were conserved immediately after his death in a place of worship whose location has never been identified, were then transferred to Forlì’s Cathedral in around 1267. Among the depictions of the Saint present in Forlì, the most famous are the one set in the marble lunette at the entrance to the Church of the Carmine and a canvas by Livio Modigliani “Saint Valerian preaching to his fellow Roman soldiers” exhibited in the Civic Art Gallery at the San Domenico Museums. Finally, we should note that the saint, now Co-Patron Saint of the city, was also depicted on horseback in armour on the city of Forlì’s former coat of arms.