Reliquary theca with a relic of Saint Geminianus (Geminian) of Modena

Oval glass-fronted silver reliquary theca housing first-class ex ossibus (from the bone) relics of Saint Geminianus of Modena. The relic is affixed to a red silk background, surrounded by twisted silver wire ornamentation, and identified on a manuscript cedula label as S. Geminiani Ep. Modena C. (Saint Geminianus, Bishop of Modena, Confessor). On the back, under a protective cap, the theca is secured by a seal of red wax with a perfectly preserved imprint of a coat of arms of a Roman Catholic Bishop.

Saint Geminianus (also known as Saint Geminian, or Saint Gimignano) (†397) was a fourth-century deacon who became Bishop of Modena. From his name, it has been deduced that Geminianus probably belonged to the caste of Roman senators. Nothing more is directly known about him, and all information regarding his life comes from much later biographies. It is said that when Saint Athanasius was entering exile in France, he passed through Modena and was received kindly by Geminianus. Saint John Chrysostom later received the same hospitality. Saint Geminianus opposed Arianism and Jovinianism. Traces of his veneration have always been present in Modena. As early as the fifth century a church had been erected over his tomb, contiguous with the present cathedral and outside the center of the original Roman town. In the early Middle Ages, moreover, Modena is often mentioned as Civitas Geminiana.  The people of Modena believe his miraculous intercession saved them from the invading Huns, when he conjured up the dense fog that hid the city.