The patron of Orvieto is Saint Joseph and his day falls on 19 March.
The two feasts the city is known for come later in the calendar. Corpus Christi is the solemnity Pope Urban IV instituted in Orvieto itself, with the bull Transiturus of 11 August 1264, and which the city now accompanies with a historical procession in costume.
Pentecost belongs to the Palombella, established in the sixteenth century by the Monaldeschi: the dove that stands for the Holy Spirit. The rite has long been contested by animal rights groups, who ask for a model instead; since 2005 the dove is no longer tied to the coat of arms but housed in a plastic tube.
