The patron saint of Catanzaro is Saint Vitalian of Capua, celebrated on 16 July. His cult was introduced to the city with the translation of the saint's relics, arriving from the sanctuary of Montevergine and from Benevento, into a dedicated cathedral chapel commissioned by Count Pietro Ruffo in 1311; after the chapel's ruin, the relics were officially transferred by Bishop Nicolò Orazio in 1583. According to tradition, a miraculous liquid, called «manna», oozed from the saint's tomb.
The city's oldest place of worship is traditionally identified as the church of Sant'Omobono, probably built between the 11th and 12th centuries, perhaps over the remains of a very ancient temple of the sun; the first structures of the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Mezzogiorno, on the other hand, are said to date from the 9th century. The city's Byzantine origins brought the introduction of silk craftsmanship, for which Charles V granted the establishment of the Silk Guild in 1519; in 1528 Catanzaro withstood a French siege, earning from the same emperor the title «Magnifica».
