The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa holds the alleged ashes of St John the Baptist, stolen during the Crusades, which are taken out and paraded through the city every year on 24 June, St John's feast day.
The celebration takes place on the saint's day and involves a solemn mass, followed by a procession where the Ark containing the saint's remains is transported through the city. When the procession arrives at the city's ancient port, a ritual benediction of the Sea and the City takes place, following which the remains are taken back to the cathedral and the ceremony is solemnly concluded.
There may also be bonfires on the previous night. The saint is very much a cherished figure of local folklore, so expect a certain degree of rambunctiousness and festive frolics.
Saint John has been the patron saint of Genova since the middle ages, when the ashes arrived in the city courtesy of a band of roving crusaders. The crusaders (or bandits, depending on your point of view) had gone off in search of the bones of Saint Nicholas (or Santa Claus), which were preserved in a church in ancient Demre, or Myra. Miraculously, when they arrived in 1099, the tomb of Nicholas had recently been robbed by sailors from Bari, who abducted the remains and took them back to their hometown.
Peeved, the Genovese started tearing up the floor of the church and discovered another set of remains. Believing these to be the real Saint Nicholas, they packed the bones up and were about to leave, when they learned from the cries and lamentations of the monks at the site that the bones were actually the bones of Saint John the Baptist, a much holier prize than jolly old Saint Nicholas. The Genovese returned to Genova as victors, with their bags full of holy bones.
Whether the remains of the saint are genuine or not remains highly dubious. The saint being one of the most popular saints of the Catholic church, his head was one of the most sought-after relics on the market. At one point at least 13 heads of Saint John were being venerated around Europe. The most prized one was kept in the Vatican, but irreverent raiders apparently sacked the city around the 7th century, finding the time to play three-way football with the revered heads of St Paul, St Peter and St John before taking them off to unknown and remote destinations in Asia.
So the Genovese weren't really raiding, they were "recovering" the stolen relics. Makes you feel better about the whole thing, doesn't it?
Event details can change. Please check with the organisers that the event is happening before making travel arrangements.
