Saint Proculus martyr was a Roman soldier martyred in Bologna during the persecution of Diocletian. However, around this martyr figure from Bologna, tradition has created two legendary lives, which differ in some important details: in the first, Proculus was a soldier and a spreader of Christianity in the city of Bologna, who soon came into conflict with the Prefect of the city Marino, who decided to condemn him to death by beheading. With his severed head in his hands, he went to the place of execution where a church was later erected in his honor. According to another version, Proculus instead came to Rome from Syria; he became bishop of Terni, and arrived in Bologna because of the persecutions, and was beheaded here. In 1389, during the reconnaissance of the ark where the remains of the Saint rested, two bodies were found, an event that gave substance to the two different legends, that of Proculus the soldier and that of Proculus the bishop. Both the Martyrology of Jerome and the Roman Martyrology set the feast of Saint Proculus on June 1st.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s building site:

Very little is known about the Saint Proculus that stands on the top of the G97 spire. After some research it has emerged that it is a reproduction, and that in reality the original statue dates around the year 1826, although it remains unclear where it is located today.