Terence of Pesaro

Terence Of Pesaro

Saint Terence (Italian: San Terenzio) is the patron saint of Pesaro. According to tradition, he was from Pannonia and fled to the Adriatic coast to escape the persecution of Christians under Decius (ca. 250–51). His corpse was eventually thrown into a gorge near some hot springs (locally called acqua mala or acqua cattiva), near Pesaro. The place of his martyrdom was considered to be the area called the Apsella di Montelabbate, near the Abbey of San Tomaso in Foglia. This area contains sulphurous springs, and locally they are called the l'Acqua di S. Terencio.

An alternate tradition makes him the first bishop of Pesaro, and a native of the city, rather than a Pannonian layman. Early representations of Terence depict him as an aging bishop. However, later depictions show him as a young man in military dress, with the palm of martyrdom in one hand and a model of the city in the other, thus counting him amongst the “military saints.” Giovanni Antonio Bellinzoni of Pesaro (ca. 1415 – ca. 1477) depicts him this way.