Among the most recurrent symbols in Europe there is the "George Cross", which represents many of the municipalities, and geopolitical realities of nations large and diverse community valley. The popularity of this important symbol comes from the point di vista storico, da un'antica devozione a San Giorgio, personaggio misterioso e affascinante, che è stato scelto come protettore o co-protettore da alcuni comuni padani (ricordiamo gli esempi delle città di Genova e Ferrara). La grande diffusione del culto di San Giorgio, originariamente venerato in Oriente, si ebbe con le Crociate: ai tempi della battaglia di Antiochia, nell'anno 1089, il martire si sarebbe mostrato ai combattenti cristiani accompagnato da splendide e sfolgoranti creature celesti (con numerose bandiere in cui campeggiavano croci rosse in campo bianco) in una miracolosa apparizione. Il Santo divenne poi patrono dei cavalieri, della Serenissima Repubblica di Genova e dell'Inghilterra. Nella "Superba", la venerazione del Santo was recognized at the institutional level, so that was easy to identify the image of St. George with the glorious Republic of Genoa. Still, the red cross on white is the living symbol of the Ligurian people. How, moreover, is the emblem of the Lombardy people since time immemorial (it seems that in Milan, this symbol has been recognized since the early medieval period). The flag accompanied the exploits and daily life of Milan during the happy communal age and waved on his liberation struggle culminating in the heroic annals of the Carroccio and Legnano, confirming it as a "powerful symbol" of the Free Towns Po who had rebelled at 'arrogance and lawlessness of the emperors, and later, the Crusader banner would have been recognized worldwide as the flag of the nation Lombard. In addition to Milan and Genoa, other important cities like Bologna, Padua, Mantua, Vercelli and Alessandria (officially founded in honor of the Pope, just the Lombard League) boast the emblem of St. George. In the Republic of Venice itself, whose patron saint was, of course, the Gospel of Mark, the intercession of St George had to be still held in high esteem as it is evident that the frescoes illustrating the life of Jacopo Avanzi performed by the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, and Vittore Carpaccio in San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. But who was this warrior saint, revered throughout il mondo cristiano e particolarmente amato nelle terre padane? In realtà, rispondere a questa domanda non è molto semplice. Sulla vita e le opere di San Giorgio, infatti, disponiamo di notizie biografiche sostanzialmente carenti e spesso poco sicure, che sono state a loro volta intrecciate con eventi leggendari (primo tra questi, l'uccisione di un drago, di cui si parlerà in seguito). Per questo motivo la Chiesa Cattolica, con la grande riforma del calendario liturgico decretata nel 1969, ha deciso di diminuire di importanza la festività di San Giorgio, tradizionalmente fissata per il giorno 23 aprile.Le notizie pervenuteci sulla vita del Santo sono, come già detto, spesso contraddittorie. La tradizione più antica ci dice che San George was born in Palestine, specifically in the town of Lydda, in this place, the Soldier of Christ was made a martyr to the cause of the Gospel. The most recent biography written by Jacopo da Voragine, alternating with events in the life of the saint are clearly legendary, shows instead a St. George native of Cappadocia and a soldier of the Roman army at the time of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian. The persecution of Christians, the Roman Empire perpetrated in a systematic and unprecedented ferocity, they created many martyrs who spilled their blood heroically in the name of Jesus Other subjects of the empire who had embraced Christianity, however, renounced the faith fear and surrendered to the constraints the idolatry of the state, accepted (albeit reluctantly) to perform sacrifices to the gods wicked pagane.San George, a long time Christian, he was highly irritated by this apostasy, so he abandoned the Roman army and began his public preaching of the Gospel of Christ, seeking to convert people with great vigor and denouncing idolatry. In particular, he argued with great passion that pagan gods were nothing but demons, without any fear of the consequences, because of his courageous public preaching, would necessarily have had to bear witness to the tireless persona.E of his faith led him to be arrested by the authorities of the empire Rome. The prefect Daciano set himself, then, to force the courageous witness of the Gospel of Christ to deny the true faith, and had him tortured for a long time. Then, the representative of Rome called a magician, and ordered him to bend the prisoner with his evil spells, but spells had no effect on San Giorgio, and the magician himself, heavily defeated, announced his conversion to Christianity and accepted to undergo martirio.Daciano, however, closed his heart even more, and persisted in his pernicious attempts to force the valiant George apostasy but had the opposite effect: his wife Alexandra, after witnessing a miracle the Holy soldier decided to abandon the false pagan superstitions and become Christian. The prefect of Rome, enraged, had then beaten his wife, causing early death, and later beheaded San Giorgio. If history does not reveal the exact place where the martyred warrior was murdered (Lydda, or Persia, or other places in the East) or the real actors of the story (the prefect Daciano, according to some, it would be rather a Persian emperor) substantial importance has only one thing: the martyrdom of the Holy Warrior happened, even if it is absolutely impossible to date it or locate it with sicurezza.L 'iconography has made much use of the image of the warrior martyr, and many scenes from his life are been masterfully painted and represented. Often, the figure of Saint George was shown dressed as a soldier with spear and shield, in the act of killing the dragon. As already noted, the events of the fight against the dragon is that part of the biographies of the legendary Holy preacher. It is said that in the city of Silene, Libya, the local population were subjected to harassment of a dragon: the terrible be approached periodically to the city and gave off fire, killing the inhabitants who had horribly bad luck to meet him. Thus, according to legend, the town of Silene decided to come to terms with the dragon in exchange for her placid, the people would provide the meal in two sheep a day. The Dragon agreed to the pact, and the city of Silene finally lived moments of quiet. However, when the sheep began to run low, people were forced to bring in food to no more dragon two sheep, but a sheep and a human being, whose name was drawn at random from among all the inhabitants. Inevitably, one day had to even touch the young daughter of the ruler. And just as the unfortunate girl was heading toward death, the legend of St. George brings up again in the role of martyr militare.Il warrior, when he learned the sad fate that the girl and the whole city were intended, vowed to poor Princess to help her in the name of Jesus Christ and decided di affrontare il drago: dopo essersi benedetto con il segno della croce, San Giorgio attaccò con decisione l'animale e lo trafisse con la lancia. La prodigiosa vittoria contro il drago procurò la conversione al Cristianesimo dell'intera città: a Silene, più di ventimila persone ricevettero il battesimo, e il re fece costruire una grande chiesa nel territorio a lui soggetto. Lo stesso sovrano regalò poi al Santo una grande quantità di denaro, che Giorgio donò senza alcun indugio ai poveri. Poi, il martire guerriero ammonì il re sui suoi doveri di cristiano e lasciò definitivamente quella città che, nel nome di Cristo, aveva liberato dagli influssi malefici del drago.Queste leggende, intrecciate ai fatti più propriamente historians, not detract from the value of the martyrdom of St. George, even if they contribute to create around him a tight veil of mystery and uncertainty. Today, the figure of the warrior martyr "is also found in popular celebrations of strictly non-religious (such as, for example, those related to the return of spring), where you can see the unconscious presence of some pre-Christian traditions, of course devoid from any religious significance. Hence, in many quarters, no doubt taking advantage of the admixture of legend and history that emerges from reading the biography of the saint, he wanted to "de-Christianization" and sometimes "paganize" artificially pious figure of the Christian martyr. A fate truly strange and paradoxical, for the man who likened it to pagan gods demons, the Holy One who accepted martyrdom in order not to betray the Christian faith ... St. George, the patron saint of Scouting's history and the cult of St. George, martyr, patron saint of scouts ... George, a man native of Cappadocia, was military tribune in Palestine. It was there that he converted to Christianity after he donated all his possessions to the poor. Then, during the persecution of Diocletian, George was arrested and tortured several times, however, overcoming these initial difficulties. Further on, however, was finally captured and sentenced to martyrdom as beheaded. Already in the fourth century was built a shrine in Lydda in Palestine, where his tomb. The cult of St. George, seen as the patron saint of knights, May was a development in the period of the Crusades, during which we think was born the legend of St. George slaying the dragon. Baden Powell himself has chosen St George as patron saint of scouts for his virtues and ideals. As we have seen the cult of this saint is very old, but her figure is not legend, as some had believed. The virtues and ideals of St. George, despite the weather, are still current and valid. It is therefore important that each leader knows how to clearly explain to their children the figure of this saint to be taken as an example. Every year the scouts are used to do a field day at the S. George (the 23 aprile). SAN GIORGIO NELL’ARTE Molti sono gli artisti che hanno raffigurato San Giorgio, il Santo originario della Cappadocia, decapitato al tempo di Diocleziano e festeggiato dalla chiesa il 23 aprile. Le prime raffigurazioni del Santo, intorno al X secolo nell’Occidente europeo, lo raffigurano giovane, sbarbato e senza alcun attributo speciale. Solo più tardi, al tempo dei Crociati, la venerazione del Santo crebbe e la sua storia si arricchisce della famosa leggenda; si avranno così innumerevoli raffigurazioni del Santo a cavallo nell’atto di uccidere il dragone. Nella Chiesa Orientale invece, già a partire dal IX secolo, l’immagine di San Giorgio, che uccide il dragone è molto frequente sulle icone russe e su religious paintings on wood. The paintings over the centuries, concerning the Holy One, are innumerable: Giovanni Bellini, Tinto rectum, Paolo Uccello, Carpaccio Food King, Cosme Tura, Andrea Montegna among the most illustrious names. The whole legend of St. George was painted in 1377 by Jacopo Avanzi in the Basilica del Santo in Padua and in 1505 by Vittore Carpaccio in San Giorgio degli Schiavoni in Venice. the moments of martyrdom hardly have been represented and can be seen in pictorial cycles in the churches dedicated to him, as in the oratory of San Giorgio in Padua. The different cities, who revere him as a protector, have dedicated several churches in Venice dedicated to him as three outstanding works of art. In Ferrara, another devoted to the Holy City, in the splendid cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. George, in the lunette of the portal is depicted in bas-relief of St George slaying the dragon. The saint, depicted as a knight in steel mesh, is depicted in the act of delivering the fatal blow to the dragon already pierced by a broken lance. The great Donatello, charged by the corporation Cuirassier, left us a sculpture of the saint, standing, armed and armor, leaving the dragon as sometimes it is depicted in the Italian Renaissance art. The life of St. George, narrated by Jacopo da Voragine in the Legenda Aurea, consists of two blocks. The oldest, gradually expanded with more new episodes, said that he was born of a Persian, Gerontius, and a woman of Cappadocia, polychronic, who had a Christian education. George, whose name Gheorgios of Greek origin, derived from gheorgos - farmer - became an officer in the Roman army under Diocletian and Maximin. At that time the prefect Daziano, convenes seventy-two king to threaten Christians of the most brutal tortures. George arrives at court, distributes its goods to the poor and declares his faith in Christ. Captured, stripped naked, forced to put your feet in sandals studded with nails, hit by a hammer so violently as to make him the brains spilling out, George is tied up and thrown into prison. The Lord appears and tells him that his passion would last seven years, he died three times, and it would have risen three times before ascending into heaven. Is again whipped and sent back to prison. Daziano when he realizes that George is indomitable, summons the magician Athanasius, asking him to win it with a spell: Athanasius divides in two a bull with a magic formula, then gives George a poisoned drink, promising that he would convert if it had not obtained no harm. And this happened. Athanasius is converted and is immediately put to death. Athanasius is put on a wheel on each side armed with tips and blades. Cut into ten pieces and thrown into a well. You will hear the burst of thunder and Giorgio resurrected. The event causes the conversion of the captain of the guard and its soldiers who are killed immediately. George is brought back to court, pay into the mouth of the molten lead in the head and planted sixty hot nails, then hang upside down on a brazier. Finally led back to prison. The next day the king Magnentius swears that he had become a Christian if George had been able to flourish and bear fruit twenty-two wooden chairs. The miracle happens, but Magnentius attributes it to the god Apollo and Giorgio destroys the temple of this deity. It is quartered and thrown into a boiler with lead and pitch. A terrible roar announces the descent of the Lord, accompanied by Michael and his angels, George raises. Won from the pains of Daziano George's wife, Alexandra, is converts to Christianity and was ordered to turn to martyrdom. George is exposed to the birds that a break, but for the third time rises. The next day - said Jacopo da Voragine - George was sentenced to be beheaded. Iron gate leading to the martyr prays. Asks God to the fire of heaven, and immediately devours Daziano seventy-two king and all the nations present. Includes a request to fulfill all those who invoke his name. The Lord says that those who venerate his relics, will be heard. The story bears a note: "I, Pasicrate, servant of George, I was present during the seven years of his passion, and I put in writing what he suffered. Trentamilanovecento men and Empress Alessandra sono stati da lui convertiti alla fede.” Questa naturalmente è una Passio edulcorata che sembra passare ogni limite di credibilità In scritture posteriori i settantadue re scompaiono, il prefetto diventa l’imperatore e, naturalmente Giorgio muore una volta sola, pur restando i segni del suo martirio. San Giorgio e il drago Alle Passiones di San Giorgio si aggiunge, a mo di preambolo, il combattimento fra San Giorgio e il drago. Questa leggenda fece la sua comparsa nel XI secolo, in Oriente ed in Occidente. Ebbe un grandissimo successo dovuto al fascino della Legenda Aurea, anche se ricalca in alcuni aspetti, il mito di Perseo ed Andromeda.
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