The cult of the saints for epilepsy in Italy: A geographical, linguistic, historical and anthropological overview

This article provides a brief geographical, linguistic, historical, and anthropological overview of the cult of the Saints invoked against epilepsy in Italy at the beginning of the last century. In many areas of Italy, epilepsy was referred to as a disease associated with the names of some saints. The authors provide biographical notes of the main saints who gave their name to some dialectal expressions used to describe epilepsy. At the beginning of the Twentieth century, the cult of some holy helpers against epilepsy (Saint Valentine and Saint Donatus) extended over very large geographical areas of Italy. The use of associating the names of the saints to designate epilepsy derives from the popular belief that considered this disease as a form of demonic possession requiring divine protection. Death by beheading or episodes of miraculous healings could have led to the association with specific saints.