Saint Vissia of Fermo

Little is known about Vissia, and that little belongs to Fermo more than to history at large. Local accounts say she was beheaded around 250, under the emperor Decius, on a hill near the center of town. Since then that hill has been called Colle Vissiano, and the people of Fermo simply call it the Montagnola: it’s one of those cases where a person’s name stuck to a piece of land and never left. In Fermo Cathedral you can still see a plaque recalling Saint Vissia, who ennobles her native city with her martyrdom. It was Caesar Baronius, editing the Roman Martyrology, who placed her on April 12 together with Saint Sophia of Fermo; in the 2004 edition Sophia’s memorial was moved to April 30, and Vissia was left alone on this day. Local texts link her name to that of Saint Emygdius, protector of Ascoli. Her relics are kept in four churches in the city and the surrounding area. She is co-patron of Fermo together with Saint Sophia and Saint Savinus. If your name is Vissia, today is your name day.