The story of Saint Hieron begins with the victory over the Romans by the Persian Empire in 296, following which the emperor Diocletian ordered the recruitment of new soldiers to rebuild and strengthen his army. Agricolaus, an imperial official, was thus sent to Cappadocia together with a contingent of soldiers with the aim of enlisting as many Christian men as he could. Among the latter there was Hieron who was forced to march towards Melitene together with 32 other companions. Once he reached his destination, however, an elderly man appeared to him in a dream and spoke to him, encouraging him to remain steadfast in the Christian faith despite the climate of terror. Having also warned the other companions, together they decided that they would not participate in the pagan rite scheduled for the following day in which all the rookies had to take part in, and for this they were sentenced to death.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s buiding site:

The original statue of San Hieron was created in 1835 by Pompeo Marchesi, a sculptor already active at the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo for the creation of other statues. We do not know whether the statue that is currently on the Cathedral is the original or a copy. Saint Hieron is represented as a bearded elderly man, from whose shoulders falls a voluminous drapery that envelops the entire figure. His gaze is directed downwards, while looking at the hands protruding from the robe, busy holding a skull.