Restituta, Saint, Martyr

RESTITUTA, Saint, Martyr. - A martyr named R. appears in various Passiones of a legendary character and is venerated on May 17 at Ischia and Naples (BHL, 7190-91), in Corsica (BHL, suppl. 6466 d-e; martyred at Calvi on May 21), Cagliari and in other localities of Sardinia (Acta SS. Maii, VII, Antwerp 1688, pp. 794-99); on May 27 at Sora (BHL, 7192-96).

The hypothesis has been proposed that everywhere it is a question of the same African martyr, perhaps belonging to the group of the martyrs of Abitinae, put to death at Carthage on Feb. 12, 304 (cf. the text of the Passio ed. by P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, Note agiografiche, VIII [Studi e Testi, 65], Vatican City 1935, pp. 49-71), whose relics would have been transported to Italy by the refugees of the Vandal persecution. For the R. of Sora the identification seems less probable. In any case, here are some factual data: at Lacco Ameno on the island of Ischia the excavations carried out in 1950 in the church of St. R. revealed that it was built in a cemetery area (v. ISCHIA). At Naples R. is recorded in the marble Calendar (May 16) and later became, at an unspecified period, the eponym of the Constantinian Basilica, the first cathedral of Naples. At Cagliari in Sardinia St. R. is identified with the mother of St. Eusebius (cf. F. Savio, Gli antichi vescovi d'Italia, Il Piemonte, Turin 1898, p. 551; the identification goes back already to the 8th-9th century). In Corsica, outside the built-up area of Calenzana, in the region of Calvi, in an oratory dedicated to St. R., built on an ancient cemetery area, the excavations of 1951 brought to light a sarcophagus set deeply into the ground and covered with a layer of plaster with 12th-century frescoes depicting the scene of the martyrdom of R. and companions. The sarcophagus, against which a medieval altar was placed, had a pitched roof lid and bore a large monogram of Christ engraved on its front.

A. Pietro Frutaz