The Missing Relics of Saint Stephen: Alessandro Moscatelli and “The Saint’s Bones”

A manuscript discovered during an excavation, a mission to the Medici court, and a journey through Tuscany, Puglia, and Dalmatia. Alessandro Moscatelli recounts how his passion for the history of Trani became a novel.

In the 1990s, during a construction excavation, a 17th-century manuscript was discovered by chance. It was written by a Benedictine monk at the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de’ Medici. Its pages recount a mission: to discover where the relics of Saint Stephen, Pope and Martyr, had ended up.

The Saint’s Bones: Their disappearance comes to light just as the Grand Duke, having obtained the Holy See’s approval, intends to transfer them from the Church of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome to the Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri in Pisa. The project was meant to help restore prestige to the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen and to the Medici court. But the bones had been stolen. Friar Prudentino is tasked with finding them.

The investigation takes him across the Italian peninsula and as far as Dalmatia, through monasteries, encounters, and events that weave together historical research and imagination.

For Alessandro Moscatelli, a former author of legal publications, the novel also stems from a personal connection: that with Trani, its history, and the places that continue to preserve its traces.

Alessandro Moscatelli, why did you choose to write a novel?

I’ve published numerous articles in legal journals and textbooks. This time, I wanted to try my hand at a story based on detailed historical research into my local area. I’ve always been passionate about the history and traditions of Trani.

How did the idea to set it in the 17th century come about?

I have the privilege of living in Trani, a city that preserves places capable of evoking the past. I’m thinking in particular of the Monastery of Santa Maria di Colonna, overlooking the sea and a destination for long walks. Studying its history led me to imagine myself in another time, among the protagonists of the events linked to the mystery of the bones of Saint Stephen. For me, writing is a sort of privileged access to a dream that I try to share with others as well.

The novel follows the investigations of Friar Prudentino, commissioned by Cosimo III de’ Medici. What journey awaits the reader?

The friar’s quest takes him across the Italian peninsula, from Trani to Florence and Rome, through great Benedictine monasteries, and all the way to Dalmatia. Along the way, places, people, emotions, stories, and traditions intertwine. Without presumption, I wanted to offer a glimpse into 17th-century Italy.

Does the religious dimension play an important role in the story?

Certainly. The search for the saint’s bones is also an act of faith. The mystery also leads the protagonist into ecclesiastical circles and hierarchies.

Which character has stayed closest to your heart?

I’m very attached to Friar Prudentino, because of his long journey of study and faith. I believe, however, that the soul of the novel is a powerful and intelligent woman: the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Margherita Luisa d’Orléans, cousin of Louis XIV, the Sun King. She is the one who brings a great idea to life. By reading the book, you’ll discover whether the men were able to bring it to fruition.

Between the mystery of the relics and Friar Prudentino’s journey, the novel builds a narrative bridge between Medici-era Tuscany and Puglia. At its core is also the author’s desire to view familiar places through different eyes: as starting points for rediscovering the past and imagining a story.

Alessandro Moscatelli, born in 1964, holds a law degree, is an attorney admitted to the Supreme Court, practices civil law, is a former instructor at the Law School and a member of the Board of the Trani Bar Association, and serves as a civil and commercial mediator.
Author of numerous handbooks on real estate law and civil and commercial mediation; speaker and organizer of numerous national legal conferences.
An enthusiast of the history of the city of Trani, he serves as secretary and scientific member of the Giustina Rocca Study Center. This is his first attempt at writing a novel steeped in mystery and history.

Title: THE SAINT’S BONES
Author: Alessandro Moscatelli

Series: Law & Words

Scientific Editor: Francesca Corraro

ISBN: 979-12-5777-166-9