The Archives of Veneranda Arca di Sant’Antonio

Abstract

The article illustrates the archives of the Arca recently reorganized and inventoried.
Devotion to saint Anthony from Padua began early just after his death on June 13, 1231. The following year Pope Gregory IX canonised the Franciscan friar of Portuguese origin and so the pilgrimages and offerings of the devotees intensified. The construction of a new church dedicated to the saint began, thanks to funding from the city, which took care until 1310 also the management of the money offered to build the basilica. Afterward the administration of the substantial real estate and money offered by the devotees was entrusted to the institution called “Veneranda Arca di s. Antonio “who is still active. The archives of the Arca has been preserved almost entirely from the fifteenth century and documents not only the events of the institution and the church, but also the history of Padua and its territory, especially of the country of Anguillara Veneta, donated in 1405 from the Carraresi, lords of Padua and remained property of the Arca until 1973.