Among the patron saints of Imola is Saint Cassian, celebrated on 13 August: Christianity spread through the town, then called Forum Cornelii, probably from the 3rd century onwards, and his martyrdom represents the founding event for the local Christian community. The town's cathedral, seat of the diocese of Imola, is dedicated to him, overlooking the central Piazza Duomo and holding fine works of sacred art and liturgical furnishings.
In the same cathedral, in the left nave of the crypt, also rests Saint Peter Chrysologus, baptised and educated by Bishop Cornelius of Forum Cornelii, who directed him towards literary and legal studies in Ravenna and Bologna before ordaining him deacon. Appointed bishop of Ravenna in 433 by Pope Sixtus III, when the town was capital of the Western Roman Empire, Peter was nicknamed «Chrysologus», meaning «golden-worded», for his extraordinary oratorical skill; he died in Ravenna on 2 December 450, but chose to be buried in his home town. The town's co-patron is finally the Blessed Virgin of Piratello, whose image, attested between 1483 and 1489, is invoked for healing from illness and injury and is celebrated during the Rogation Days of May.
