{{Infobox saint | honorific_prefix = Saint | name = Crescentinus | birth_date = | death_date = ~303 AD | feast_day = 1 June | venerated_in = Roman Catholic Church<br>Eastern Orthodox Church | image = Saint crescentinus mattrowe.JPG | caption = A statue of Crescentinus borne in procession in the streets of Urbino for his feast day. | birth_place = | death_place = | titles = Martyr | canonized_date = | canonized_place = | canonized_by = | attributes = Military attire, depicted slaying a dragon | patronage = Urbino, Città di Castello, invoked against headache | major_shrine = Urbino Cathedral | suppressed_date = | issues = }}
'''Saint Crescentinus''' ({{langx|it|San Crescentino, Crescenziano}}) (died June 1, 303) is the patron saint of Urbino whose feast day is celebrated on June 1. Venerated as a warrior saint, he is sometimes depicted on horseback, killing a dragon, in the same manner as Saint George. However, as Martin Davies writes, "S. Crescentino’s story, so far as I am aware, excludes a Princess or other female victim."<ref>Martin Davies, "Uccello's 'St George' in London," ''Burlington Magazine'', Vol. 101, No. 678/679 (Sep. - Oct., 1959), pp. 308-315</ref>
==Legend== Crescentinus is traditionally said to have been a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity. To escape the persecutions of Diocletian, he fled to Umbria, and found refuge at ''Thifernum Tiberinum'' (present-day Città di Castello). His defeat of a dragon led to a successful evangelization of the region, together with his companions. His mission was confined particularly to the Tiber Valley and the ancient ''Thifernum Tiberinum''. He was subsequently beheaded.
==Veneration== Wishing to enrich his cathedral, Blessed Mainard (Mainardo), the Bishop of Urbino, brought the saint's relics to the city in 1068.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041218/http://www2.chiesacattolica.it/cci/diocesi/allegati_applet2/documenti/2002-06/07-215/la%20fede21-07_06.rtf]
The coin known as the ''armellino'' (popularly called the ''volpetta'') issued by the Duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria I della Rovere, featured Saint Crescentinus on horseback.<ref>:it:Monete italiane medioevali</ref>
He is still venerated in Urbino, where his statue is carried through the streets in a procession on his feast day. Another ritual involves tapping devotees’ heads with Crescentinus' relics, to free the supplicant from headaches. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070812220232/http://www.prourbino.it/UrbinatiIllustri/Crescenziano/Crescentino.htm]
==Gallery== <gallery> Image:SaintCrescentinusKillstheDragon.jpg|''San Crescenziano uccide il drago'' (Saint Crescentinus kills the dragon), Marco Benefial 1747–49. Cathedral of Città di Castello </gallery>
==External links== *{{in lang|it}} [https://www.prourbino.it/UrbinatiIndimenticabilii/Crescenziano/Crescentino.htm San Crescentino] *{{in lang|it}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041218/http://www2.chiesacattolica.it/cci/diocesi/allegati_applet2/documenti/2002-06/07-215/la%20fede21-07_06.rtf L'omelia di S.E.R. il Cardinale Sergio Sebastiani]
==Notes== <references/>
==Further reading== {{Portal|Saints}} Information about this saint may be found in the Acta Sanctorum, as well as in Angelo Conti, ''Fiori Vaghi delle Vite dei Santi e Beati delle Chiese, e Reliquie della Città di Castello'' (1627), pp-45ff.
Category:303 deaths Category:4th-century Christian martyrs Category:4th-century Romans Category:Year of birth unknown