On the Roads of Pavia
Siro the Pilgrim
The origin of the Cathedral (Duomo)
By Cesare Carabba
Translation by Elena Casalino
Introduction
This story is not meant to be a historical reconstruction of events, but a Pindaric flight of a heart animated by faith. I was cued to write this by a very dear friend of mine and priest who, after reading some of my papers, suggested I write a fictional story inspired by the origins of Christianity in Pavia.
Starting from some historical sources, I speculated that it was Mark the Evangelist the first to bring the Gospel proclamation to Aquileia, a Roman city in the upper Adriatic Sea.
Later from this place, some evangelisers, including Inventius and Siro, spread the Word into the inland. I imagined that they went up the great rivers, Po and Ticino, and upstream, just like some birds follow the streams. On their way, they would have met Pompey, the second Bishop of Pavia, who would have followed them after being attracted by the Gospel teaching.
According to an ancient legend, Saint Siro was the boy who brought the baskets of bread and fish that Jesus then multiplied. Given the chronological mismatch, this is obviously impossible, but in this story I wanted to relive this affectionate belief and imagined that those fish and loaves were the builders of the Cathedral. To better convey the experience that testifies how faith is a sort of immersion in divine silence, I imagined the Cathedral itself being dragged into the abyss of the sea by the fish that had escaped from the basket. The mortal remains of Siro and Inventius today lie in this Cathedral and here they shine in Spirit, in the marvellous light that this place can offer at certain times of the day and according to the season. I hope I will not cause scandal to anyone with this fiction of mine and that the story can amicably accompany the reader through that joyful dimension that faith can give.
On the way
One day Siro told me that the birds had first brought the proclamation of Christ. They had spread it through the inland, along those rivers and canals that we were now walking by together.
Aquileia, the great Roman city and Adriatic fortress, had been reached and loved by Mark the Evangelist.
The proclamation of the risen Christ, had defeated all sort of resistance in that town, opposing Roman violence and the plague, bringing forth the new faith in the simple people. Even those who were unaware of the events in Palestine had been contaminated by the unity of the new believers.
He admired the common feeling, the simple way of praying, the goodness of spirit that distinguished them, the hospitality and, above all, he caught sight of sincere eyes, like those of who had discharged a heavy burden from their heart to be filled only with light and deep joy.
In those last years, so many people kept burning the flame that Mark had brought.
With their martyrdom, Hermagoras and Fortunatus had made it even more splendid, and so many had continued their mission: to purify the heart of mankind until the gold of Christ emerged.
Just as oxygen is brought to the flesh by blood, so the Gospel was spreading inland in Italy, first along the coasts, then through rivers, upstream.
Now the joy of spreading the Proclamation was on us, Siro and Inventius, along new roads and to the hearts that Providence had already softened.
Encounters
I, Inventius, used to walk a few steps behind my brother and watch him as he met people by the river.
When someone asked Siro who this Risen from the dead was, he would stop, place his staff on the ground and kneel down.
You could see him make himself tiny, tight in his rough cloak, quivering with love and, as his eyes filled with great sweetness, his soul seemed to be wrapped in a light that shone out.
Silence fell all around, and often also those in front of him, overcome by strong emotion, knelt down beside him.
When seeing the scene, those who passed by bowed their heads and paused, one could hear the whisper of a prayer, a mother ran nearby carrying her son, the boatman approached the hull remaining silent.
Even the river seemed to smooth out its eddies and fall silent.
I remained a little far away, united to Siro by the words of Jesus: for where two or more are gathered together in My name, there am I, in their midst. And He was actually with us, in the guise of that man who out of love had taken him into his heart.
How could we not be happy when it was Him who walked with us and lingered with the people he loved?
What then happened was thanks to Him.
There was nothing more beautiful than feeling His peace filling the hearts of the new brothers.
Sometimes extraordinary events also occurred and when they manifested themselves, induced us to get back on the road and carry us further.
Going up along the Po, on the right-hand side, we turned along the bank of the Ticino river and stopped on a low hill, a few steps away from the city of Pavia.
Many had followed us, some were fascinated by the signs, some prompted by that new feeling arising in them, others were just intrigued by the strange procession. Among them was Pompey, a taciturn and good man, who stood by us like a brother.
Along with many people, that morning we were sitting and resting on the grass. A few steps away from us there was a little boy dipping a small iron hoop into laundry water, and enjoying making soap bubbles. Some rose up blown by the wind and burst in the sky, others glided down, flying over the alleys and down to the low houses by the river.
Siro looked at me in excitement, "We have reached home," he said, and turning to the boy he added, "Bring us food."
The boy ran to his mother and soon after returned with a basket containing five loaves and two fish. I startled recalling the deeds of our Lord and the loaves and fish miracle.
"Come on," Siro said to me," Let's feed these people."
We walked among those people, he held the basket aloft and for each person I drew a loaf and a fish from it. Pompey also followed us and served water from a pitcher to whoever wanted some.
With my heart swollen with emotion, I kept drawing loaves and fish from the basket, handing out more and more, and when everyone had taken some, I noticed that there was still food inside the basket.
We prayed together and gave thanks, then I asked Siro, "Why did you say just now that we have come home?"
"Have a better look into the basket," he said.
I looked and the unbelievable happened.
The fish escaped from the basket and started swimming in the air, and the loaves levitated out of proportion, swelling into the sky.
The origin of the Cathedral of Pavia (Duomo)
I found myself at the foot of a mammoth building, wide stairs led to three, tall, dark wooden doors.
On the threshold I recognized Pompey who bowed his head and opened the door for me.
I asked him, "What are you doing?" the man replied, "I will open the door for you!"
I entered and moved along following the light.
To the sides there were spaces like wide streets, wooden benches in the centre, statues and paintings located into recesses on the walls.
In that place there were many people, all with their faces up.
I, too, lifted my head: space blurred everywhere losing itself into the voids of bubbles going up. Some were large, some were giant, artfully blown, stretched into domes to the top of mighty clear marble columns.
Beams of light shone in the sky, gleaming around the arched windows and shining through the round ones.
As I marvelled at such glory, something passed beyond those windows.
Perhaps clouds, I am not sure, but I glimpsed a dark matter, historiated in silver, just like the abdomen of a giant fish slicing through water. There followed a seething wake and a dull fin thud, then silence and much light returned.
At it passed by, everything around experienced a motion and went downwards: I had a feeling of going down, deep down, far from the clamour of the world, towards an abysmal womb of consolation.
Another gasp.
That vaporous ark was still sinking, perhaps guided by the fish that had escaped from the basket and that, after becoming huge, crossed the abyss carrying us with them, towards the feast of lights on the seabed.
Amazed and moved I realised I was no longer alone. In that womb of light resembling a vaporous milky foam, I felt the tender presence of a Mother.
Another leap and sinking.
Many people came beside me, they looked confused and I could see anxiety, suffering and resignation upon their faces. Pompey was with them and treating the wounds of one of them.
I could hear Siro's voice loudly, "Come on," he said, "Let's feed them too!"
Now lights from above, obliquely lapped at an altar.
In a chalice there was white, unleavened, fresh bread, spreading its fragrance all around.
Siro was nearby, dressed in white and waiting for me.
"I told you before that this place will be a home for us because here is where our mortal remains will lie", he spoke with his eyes shining with joy.
"This Cathedral will be visited by many people, it will be like a citadel, a crossroads for people.
Whoever wants will be taken up and then down, into the abyss of God's mercy.
Everyone in this place, if they wish, will be able to see the light of the earth together with the eternal one.
Within these walls, if they know how to keep quiet, they will listen to the silence of a Mother.
Here the Son of man will feed them with His body and His Word.
And we, dear Inventius, will always be with them, with whoever wants to stop here.
We will be together with Christ sacrificed on the altar, with his Mother, together with the last Peter who will bless from that altar."
Some historical sources
The story of Siro has been handed down to us by a hagiographic source, the De laudibus Papiæ manuscript from the 14th century. According to this source, Siro was the boy who had brought the baskets of loaves and fish that Jesus then multiplied: "There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fish," Andrew said, "What is this for so many?" According to this tradition, Siro then followed Peter to Rome and was sent by him to the Po Valley to preach and convert those people. He then became the bishop of Ticinum, the name the Romans gave to Pavia.
Other sources place Saint Siro next to Saint Hermagoras, proto-bishop of Aquileia and disciple of Saint Mark the Evangelist who sent him to Pavia together with Saint Inventius (Eventius). It is said that, upon their arrival, the local population welcomed them with joy and converted to Christianity even before listening to their sermons, influenced by the miracles performed by Saint Siro himself.
Hermagoras was chosen by Saint Mark in year 50 as the first bishop of the Aquileia community and was then consecrated in Rome by Saint Peter. According to a tradition from the 8th or 9th century, he was a Gentile converted by Mark. Fortunato was Hermagoras' deacon and in Aquileia in year 70 the two suffered martyrdom together, inflicted on them by a certain Sebasto, according to legend.
«Aquileia, which is the closest town to the Adriatic gulf, was founded by the Romans and fortified against the inland barbarians. It was possible to get to the city by boat and sail along the Natiso river for about 60 stadia. It served as an emporium to those Illyrian peoples who lived along the Ister river (Danube). They would come to stock products coming from the sea, such as wine which they would put into wooden barrels and load onto wagons, and also oil, while the local people would come to buy slaves, livestock and skins.
The plague in Aquileia. From 165 to 189 the Empire was afflicted by a plague, probably a smallpox epidemic, known as the Antonine Plague or "Galen's Plague", which lasted about 15 years and, according to some sources [10], claimed a total of 5,000,000 victims. According to some, it was one of those events that profoundly changed the Roman history, almost to the point of determining an epochal break with the previous period.
Historically, since the third bishop of Pavia, Eventius (or Inventius) is confirmed to have lived between 381 and 397, the first bishop should have likely lived during the 4th century. The correct chronology of the bishops of Pavia was reconstructed by Canon Beretta of the Cathedral of Pavia based on an old booklet that allows dating of the life of Saint Siro not prior to the 4th century. Regarding the reconstruction of this historical dispute, it is important to note that the Beretta family has been rooted in the Milanese history since at least the 17th century.
The beginning of the works of the Cathedral (Duomo) dates back to the 15th century even though its construction continued until the 20th century and has not been completed yet as regards the marble coverings, in particular the exterior and the internal flooring of the basilica. It stands on the site of the two pre-existing ancient Romanesque cathedrals, Saint Stephen and Saint Mary of the People that were united and communicating (whose remains are still visible at crypt level). These buildings were progressively demolished to make room for the new Cathedral.
Chronology of the first three Bishops of Pavia:
Siro (first half of the 4th century), protobishop, saint.
Pompey I (beginning of the second half of the 4th century),
saint. Inventius (or Iuvenzio) (…381…-397), saint.