O Santo e a Cidade: a pregação urbana de Santo António nos Sermões Medievais

The article is intended to present how saint Anthony of Padua’s preaching is connected with the city. Through some examples taken from hagiographical legends and sermons, the author reconstructs the changing attitudes of hagiographers and preachers linking Anthony sometimes to a general urban context and, later in time, to the city of Padua. In particular, the article focuses on some texts that highlight the effect of the preaching of Saint Anthony on his target audience, that is, the population of the city in which he spoke. The period of analysis is primarily understood during the saint's canonization in the mid fourteenth century. Despite this, some references to authors of the later period will be made as a comparison and deepening of the panorama offered. At the end of the Middle Ages, Saint Anthony would eventually be, to some extent, the model for the mendicant friars, perhaps attracted by the saints closest in time.