LEGEND OF ST. FRUCXUOSUS. 361 



All old legend tells us that two disciples of Fructuo- 

 SLis, the priests Giustino and Procopio, put out to sea 

 with the body of the Saint a few da>s after his Martyr- 

 dom, which took place during the reign of Gallienus in 

 the year 259. After being tossed about on the waves 

 for two da^'s and two nights, an angel appeared to Gius- 

 tino in a ch-eam and indicated the place where the^- 

 were to land: "Mons vero magnus, L|ui vobis prior appar- 

 ebit. ibi est locus, sed draco pestiier moratur". A legend 

 of this sort is hardh' complete without a dragon! It 

 represents the spirit of evil which endeavours to prevent 

 hoh' deeds. In this case it ma\' have been symbolic of 

 the wild sea which made the landing on the steep rocky 

 cliffs of the promontory so ditlicult. Next morning the 

 boat, with the remains ol the Saint, arri\'ed at the foot 

 of the mountain indicated hx tlic angel. A storm was 

 raging and the promolltor^' was veiled in black clouds 

 from which lightning flashed and thunder resounded. 

 The}' saw the dragon also, but he se'emed to be fettered, 

 and was soon hurled into the depths b\' some unseen 

 power. Thus the\- were able to land, and founded in 

 this loneh' spot the Abbe^- of San Fruttuoso di Capodi- 

 monte which soon became important. At the end of the 

 tenth century it received rich donations from ^Vdelasia, 

 afterwards St. Adelaide, widow of the Emperor Otto. 

 But even this secluded ba^' in the mountain side was not over- 

 looked bv the Saracens who plundered the Abbe)' later. 

 Its importance, however, still increased and it was an 

 Abbot of San Fruttuoso. Martino Doria, who in 1125 

 built the Church of San Matteo in Genoa and made it 



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