St. Anthony of Caldaro

St. Anthony of Padua, worshipped and asked for help by many people in various great needs, is represented in two sacred buildings in Caldaro (Kaltern): the St. Anthony Church in the eponymous district of San Antonio is dedicated to the saint, whereas the Franciscan Church in Caldaro village features a large picture of St. Anthony. It came to Caldaro in a strange way: once there was a nobleman who studied in Padua. When his life was in danger, in distress he called St. Anthony for help and vowed to procure a picture of him for the newly built Franciscan Church.

And really, he was freed from his predicament. While he was still thinking about how he could acquire the painting, an unknown artist appeared and offered to paint the picture. The nobleman accepted and after a short time the image of St. Anthony was ready. But before he could pay the artist, he had disappeared. The nobleman brought the painting to Caldaro and gave it to the Franciscan Church, where it has been kept ever since. It is said, that it was painted by an angel…