“I Will Protect and Save This City” Saint Oronzo, a Promise Carved in the Stone of Turi

There is a voice that crosses time and remains carved in stone. It does not shout, it does not command: it promises. On the base of the monument to Saint Oronzo in Turi, those words still seem to vibrate in the air: “I will protect and save this city.” It is an ancient promise, born between 1916 and 1917, in one of the most dramatic moments of European history, when war darkened the horizon and fear entered people’s homes.

The story of the monument is intertwined with that of a man, Gennaro Valerio, who emigrated to the United States and returned, at least in spirit, to his homeland with a silent vow in his heart. Struck by a serious illness, Valerio promised Saint Oronzo that, if he were healed, he would raise a statue in his honour. The recovery came, unexpected and complete, and with it the deep need to fulfil that promise.

The monument still stands today as a gesture of gratitude that becomes collective faith. Made of Carovigno tufa stone, a humble yet resilient material, it speaks the language of the Apulian land. Every detail tells a story: vegetal decorations, episcopal symbols, the pastoral staff, the mitre, the raised hands of the Saint that do not dominate but protect.

Saint Oronzo does not appear distant or severe. He is a bishop who watches over his community. On the side facing the town, the words of devotion can still be read, while on the back appear the name of the benefactor and the date, sealing a pact between man, faith and memory: Gennaro Valerio, 1917.

The monument is not merely a statue: it is a story carved in stone, a prayer given form. It tells of emigration and return, fear and hope, human fragility and the strength of a vow kept. It tells of a town that entrusts itself to its Saint, and of a Saint who, for over a century, has continued to watch over it from above, in silence.

Even today, passing beside that stone worn by time, one seems to feel an ancient, gentle touch. Because certain promises, when they are true, never grow old.

Credits and Sources

Original text: Giovanni Lerede

Published in: Il Paese, August 2015 – Culture and Society section

Original title: “I Will Protect and Save This City”. In Devotion to Gennaro Valerio

Photographs: Prof. Giovanni Palmisano