The Circulation of blood, clay, and ideas: the distribution of Milanese relics in the fourth and fifth centuries

This paper focuses on the origins and practice of relic distribution in the West, a strategy strongly advocated and pursued by Ambrose of Milan, who served as bishop 374–97, and his successors during the fifth century. The directions in which Milanese relics were distributed are traced in the first section of this paper, which then argues that the circulation of relics not only forged strong links among ecclesiastical communities, but also promoted the circulation of ideas. This approach enables the mapping of significant connections that are otherwise difficult to reconstruct. The transmission of iconographical and architectural models, along with certain decisions made in urban planning, is to be understood within the complex phenomenon of relic circulation. Three case studies of churches in which the presence of Milanese relics has been supposed or attested support these assertions, which are based on the catacomb of San Severo in Naples, the Concilium Sanctorum church in Aosta, and the Baptistery of Albenga.