Epilogue

Summary

On a June morning in 1574, Bologna gathered to bring Christ in procession around the town. The annual Corpus Domini procession opened with children drawn from twenty of the city's Schools of Christian Doctrine, all dressed as angels or saints, as if to underscore their nature as “the purest of the pure.” These were followed by the twenty-six artisanal companies ranked in their usual order from the weavers to the notaries. The spiritual companies followed, led by the confraternity of S. Maria della Vita. Confraternities associated with shrines and ospedali took pride of place, and the confraternity of S. Maria della Morte closed this section of the procession. The male orphans of the ospedali of S. Maria Maddalena, S. Giacomo, and S. Bartolomeo di Reno accompanied their confraternal sponsors. Laymen of both the artisanal and spiritual companies dressed in their characteristic robes, and all carried lit torches. Then came the regular and secular clergy, all carrying large candles. The vicar and suffragen bishops preceded the host, which the Cardinal Legate or Archbishop carried under the shelter of a baldachino supported by Senators. Magistrates of all the governing councils followed the host, closing with the Senators accompanied by their officials and courtiers.