San Marco or St Mark is the patron saint of Bovino. He lived in the third and fourth centuries A.D. and was the bishop of what was then known as Ecana, and is now known as Troia.

The photo above shows the stone carving above the door to St Mark's chapel. It depicts San Marco in the middle, flanked by two of his deacons.

The photo above shows the inside of the Chapel of St Mark. The multi coloured marble altar was constructed by Monsignor Antonio Lucci, Bishop of Bovino. The painting shows the ecstasy of St Mark, and the Holy Trinity. The balustrades are made from a pink marble from the Calaggio river near Sant'Agata di Puglia a few kilometres from Bovino.

The remains of St Mark are now kept under this altar. These remains were recently examined scientifically by a group of doctors from the University of Bari.

The chapel of St Mark has a number of alcoves in which there are memorials to various bishops of Bovino.

These are the mortal remains of Blessed Antonio Lucci, who was made bishop of Bovino in 1729. He was beatified in 1992 by Pope John Paul II.

 

 

Bovino folklore tells us a fascinating story which concerns a small indentation in a rock face by what used to be one of the main entrances into the town. In modern day Bovino, it is customary to visit this indentation known as "Buco di San Marco" or "the hole of St Mark", and insert your index finger into the hole.

The photo above, supplied by marcuccio shows the hole in relation to the street.

This next photo, again supplied by marcuccio shows a close up of the hole.

Here is the origin of this custom as it was recounted by Gaetano Frisoli.

"San Marco was a very holy man during his lifetime, so when he died there was competition between Bovino and Troia as to which city should have the honour of having his body."

"The two towns were unable to agree, and so they came up with a plan whereby the body should be laid on an ox cart and the oxen should be allowed to freely choose the final resting place of the body."

"The oxen headed toward Bovino, and pulled the cart up the hill towards Bovino. When the oxen reached the top of the hill, they were unable to enter the town because a large expanse of rock blocked their way. At this point, the dead body of San Marco rose up, and San Marco put his finger into the rock, miraculously forming a pathway that the oxen could follow and enter into Bovino."

Gaetano punctuated his telling of this story with phrases such as "so they say", emphasising that this is nothing more than a folk tale. However, I think you’ll agree that this story offers a valuable insight into this strange custom which is every bit as common amongst visitors to Bovino as throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain is to visitors of Rome.

His feast day is celebrated on the 7th of November.