The Relic of St. Antoninus

Resting in the Dominican Church of San Marco in Florence is the 550-year-old mummified relic of St. Antoninus. His full body lies inside a glass coffin, dressed in his ornate archbishop’s garb. In the last 12 years of his life, Antoninus was made Archbishop against his wishes. He resisted so strongly that the current pope had to threaten him with excommunication if he didn’t accept. Antoninus accepted, but continued to live like a monk. His only personal possessions were simple furniture and a mule.

Antoninus died in 1459. His unembalmed body remained exposed for eight days before it was buried in the San Marco Basilica. He was proclaimed saint in 1523 by Pope Adrian VI, who urged the Florentines to make a dignified burial for him. It was only in 1589 that the rich Salviati family built a chapel where his body was moved that same year. The Salviati Chapel was designed by Giambologna and decorated by Alessandro Allori.

Antoninus still looks as fresh and pious as the day he died, though one suspects that some cosmetic touches have been made over the years.

The church itself is considered something of a shrine to the Dominican order, due to the large number of paintings by the great Dominican artist, Fra Angelico.