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| The Basilica di Sant'Antonio |
It is estimated that more than 100,000 visitors congregated in the city for the saint’s feast day on 13 June.
Special services were held in the Basilica di Sant’Antonio and a statue of the saint was carried through the streets in the early evening.
The celebrations continued in soaring temperatures over the next few days as pilgrims from all over the world visited the Basilica, which houses the saint’s tomb and relics.
Antonio (Anthony in English) was born in Portugal where he became a Catholic priest and a friar of the Franciscan order. He died on 13 June, 1231 in Padova and was declared a saint by the Vatican a year after his death, which is considered to be a remarkably short space of time.
Antonio is one of the most loved of all the saints and his name is regularly invoked by Italians to help them recover lost items.
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