Miraculous visions: Apparitio in the Vitae of Mediaeval Venetian saints and beati

The legend of Mark’s apparitio had a profound effect on Venetian hagiographic standards. The following paper seeks firstly to uncover the extent to which the trope dominated Venetian hagiography. It further explores how the Vitae of Venice’s local contingent of saints and beati alluded to Mark’s well-known and sanctioned prototype in order to validate new, dubious or unfamiliar cults. The unusual prominence of the motif in Venice more generally, particularly after Mark’s famous apparitio of 1094, suggests that apparitiones were used as part of a broader strategy to validate Venice’s self-perceived identity as God’s favoured locus sanctus.