p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }
Tradition relates that St Benedict of Nursia left his imprint (170 cm long, 45 cm wide, 40 cm deep) on a rock while travelling through Roiate. A church was built in the 4th century to house the rock with the Saint's Mark, followed later by a convent of nuns.
The relic has been of great interest to visitors through the centuries and has been mentioned in numerous occasions. The convent was soon abolished but the church has continued to exist thanks to the devotion of the inhabitants of Roiate. The Saint's Mark is also the source of an unusual tradition, known as the 'sweating', which has occurred many times over the centuries though rarely in the past decades. It is said to warn of terrible threats to humanity (the most recent were contemporary to the world wars and the Irpinia earthquake in 1980). The 'sweating' consists of the formation of drops of liquid in the Saint's Mark which accumulate at the foot of the rock used by the Saint as a resting place. This liquid was administered, as a last resort, to the dying in the past.
On the 4th Sunday in August, a statue of the saint is carried in procession through the town on an artistic golden throne.