The Diocese of Ventimiglia-Sanremo () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Liguria, northern Italy. The name of the historic Diocese of Ventimiglia (dioecesis Albintimiliensis, and Intimiliensis) was changed in 1975. It was originally a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitanate of Milan up to 1806, when it was transferred to the Metropolitanate of Aix; but it has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Genoa since 1818.Kehr, p. 364: Pertinuit ad Mediolanensium archiepiscoporum provinciam ad annum usque 1806, quo Aquensi metropoli in Gallia addicta est. Anno vero 1818 Pius VII eam Ianuensi provinciae metropolitanae subdidit. Cf. David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, "Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo" Catholic-Hierarchy.org; retrieved February 29, 2016. Gabriel Chow, GCatholic.org., "Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo" GCatholic.org; retrieved February 29, 2016. . Umberto Benigni, "Diocese of Ventimiglia." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912; retrieved: 13 May 2018.

History

It is probable that Ventimiglia had a bishop from the fifth century; the first known is Joannes (680).

Bishop Gianfrancesco Gandolfo (1623–1633) negotiated the peace between Savoy and Genoa, which was proclaimed on 10 August 1634.Rossi (1886), p. 210.

French occupation In 1798, at the beginning of the occupation of Ventimiglia by the French, the French Directory ordered the confiscation of all the gold and silver in the churches and convents of the diocese. The Cathedral lost its large silver chandeliers, and other precious objects including the silver bust and reliquary of S. Secondo. The Biblioteca Aprosiana lost its manuscripts and incunabula.Rossi (1886), p. 284. The diocese of Ventimiglia had been reduced to only thirty-six parishes: two in Monaco, nineteen in the domains of the House of Savoy, and fourteen in the Republic of Geneva.G. Moroni (ed.), Dizionario di erudizione storioc-ecclesiastica Vol. XCIII (Venezia: Emiliana 1859), p. 209, col. 2. In 1802, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Caprara, the Papal Legate to First Consul N. Bonaparte, wrote to the Chapter of Ventimiglia, in the absence of a bishop, demanding the surrender to the French of those parishes in territory under French control. These included the two parishes in Monaco (Mentone and RoccabrunaThe parish of Santa Maria di Roccabruna had been confirmed as a possession of the diocese of Ventimiglia as early as 8 June 1182, in a bull of Pope Lucius III. Rossi (1886), p. 95.) and the 19 which had belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Chapter complied, and the diocese was reduced to only fourteen parishes.Moroni, pp. 209-210. Semerio, II, p. 527.

On 5 April 1806, at the demand of Bonaparte, now Emperor Napoleon I, Pope Pius VII issued the Bull Expositum cum nobis, by which the diocese of Ventimiglia was removed from the metropolitanate of Milan, and made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Aix.: ...nec non Vintimiliensis respective, ecclesiae metropolitanae Aquensis.... Rossi, Storia (1886), p. 317.

Restoration On 30 May 1818, however, Pope Pius VII, in the Bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum, returned Ventimiglia to Italian control, in the form of the House of Savoy, which had been restored to the expanded Kingdom of Sardinia (the King was also Doge of Genoa), and assigned the diocese to the metropolitanate of Genoa.Moroni, p. 210 column 1. Cf. Rossi (1886), p. 321. On 11 October 1820, Pius VII named Felice Levreri, parish priest of the church of S. Marco in Genoa, as the new bishop.

On 10 July 1886, the small parish of Garavano, which had fallen into French territory, was transferred by agreement between the Bishop of Ventimiglia and the Bishop of Nice from the diocese of Ventimiglia to the diocese of Nice; the transfer was approved by Pope Leo XIII.

On 3 July 1975, the Sacred Congregation of Bishops in the Roman Curia issued a decree, requested by Bishop Angelo Raimondo Verardo, (1967–1988) and authorized by Pope Paul VI, granting a change in the name of the diocese to Ventimiglia-San Remo; a second decree raised the Church of S. Syrus in the city of San Remo to the status of co-cathedral in the diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 67 (Città del Vaticano: Typis polyglottis Vaticanis, 1975), pp. 677-678.

Synods

A diocesan synod was an irregular but important meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.

A diocesan synod was held by Bishop Domenico Vaccari (1502–1511), in which the subject of witches and the procurement of abortions figured prominently.Rossi (1886), p. 235 with note 3. Bishop Stefano Spinola presided over his first diocesan synod in 1608.Prima Synodus diocesana per illustris ac reverendissimi d.d. Stephani Spinulae episcopi Vintimiliensis, (Romae: ex tip. rev. Apostolica Camera 1608). A synod, his second, was held by Bishop Mauro Promontorio (1654–1685) on 5–6 July 1683.Decreta ab Illmo. et Revmo D. D. Mauro Promontorio, epsicopo Vintimiliensi sancita, in secunda synodo diocesiana (Nice: Joannes romerus 1683). In 1784, Bishop Domenico Maria Clavarini, O.P. (1775–1797) presided over a diocesan synod.

A diocesan synod was held by Bishop Lorenzo Biale (1837–1877) on 29, 30, and 31 May 1844. Bishop Tommaso Reggio (1877–1892) held another synod on 19, 20, and 21 September 1881. Reggio held his second synod at the diocesan seminary on 3 September 1886.Synodus Albintimiliensis altera ab Illmo et Revmo Thoma e marchionhibus Reggio episcopo in Senimarii sui sacello habita, die tertia septembris, anno 1886, episcopatus sui X, Genuae: ex officina typ. lectionum catholicarum, 1886.

Cathedral and Chapter

The Chapter of the Cathedral of S. Maria Assumpta consisted of three dignities (the Provost, the Archdeacon and the Cantor) and eight Canons.Ughelli, p. 302. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 409, note 1. On 8 June 1182, Pope Lucius III (1181–1185) confirmed the Chapter in its possessions, rights, and privileges, and granted them the right to elect their own Provost. They were also granted the right of presentation of suitable persons to the churches and chapels in the diocese in their possession. These two grants removed powers from the exercise of the bishop of the diocese and placed them in the hands of the Chapter.Kehr, p. 366, no. 7. The rights and privileges were also confirmed by Pope Urban V on 21 November 1365.

The Chapter had a set of Statutes, which were last codified in 1539 and remained in force down into the end of the 18th century. According to these statutes, a Canon might take leave of his Chapter duties for as long as three months per year, without having to have an explanation, so long as the time was not consecutive and a substitute priest or chorister was provided by the Canon so that his duties were carried out. In 1624, however, due to a diminution in the number of Canons, the regulations were tightened so that no more than three Canons could be absent at any one time. By 1787, the situation had improved, and several Canons instituted proceedings against the Bishop and other Canons to return to the old rule. The Sacred Congregation of Rites in the Roman Curia granted their petition.

In 1752, a dispute arose between the Bishop and the Chapter of Ventimiglia. The custom had been that the Tenth (decima), which was owed to the bishop, and the Tenth owed to the Chapter in the town of Ventimiglia and in eight villages and rural districts, were collected at the same time by the same officials. The collection officials were appointed in alternate years by the bishop and the Chapter, and the collections were placed in one warehouse. This custom was followed up to 1716. When some of the villagers, however, refused to pay, the bishop sent his procurators to collect his due portion; the Chapter complained, wishing to observe the old custom, but the bishop demanded a fee for his services; when the Chapter tried to collect the dues on their own, the villagers refused to hand them over. The Chapter then instituted suit in the Papal Court, demanding a return to the old custom. The judgment was that the bishop's procurator and the Chapter's procurator could not be compelled to work together as one.This right to collect the decima had originally been approved by Pope Lucius III and Pope Urban V.

Bishops

Diocese of Ventimiglia

to 1400

...Palaemon Bima published a list of the bishops of Ventimiglia, based, he says, on various documents supplied him by a Canon of Ventimiglia and the Canon Theological of Ventimiglia, as well as from an "antichissimo manoscritto ci fu da rispettabile persona communicato, senza però garantirne l'autenticità". His list begins with sixteen bishops, obviously designed to carry the history of the bishops of the diocese back to the apostolic age; but there is no documentary evidence as to their existence. They are not mentioned by Ughelli, Gams, Rossi, Kehr, and Lanzoni. Joannes (attested 680)Bishop Joannes subscribed to the Acts of the synod of Rome in 680 under Pope Agatho. Ughelli, IV, p. 302. Semerio, II, p. 487. Lanzoni, p. 844. Lucius (attested 690)Bishop Lucius consecrated the church of S. Lazzaro di Tenda in 690 (DCXC). Rossi (1907), p. 407. ... Mildo (attested c. 940)Mildone subscribed a document of Bishop Atto of Vercelli: Ughelli, IV, p. 302. Semerio, II, p. 488. Rossi (1907), p. 407. ... [Ignotus] (attested 962)An unnamed bishop of Ventimiglia took part in the Coronation of the Emperor Otto I in Rome in February 962, as part of the suite of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Milan. Semerio, II, p. 488. ... Martinus (attested 1090, 1110)Martinus: Semerio, II, pp. 489-490. Kehr, p. 364, no. 1. ... Stephanus (attested 1169, 1179; died 1193)Stephanus attended the Lateran Council of 1179. He died on 7 August 1193. Rossi (1886), p. 97 with note 3. Semerio, II, pp. 489-490. Kehr, p. 364, nos. 2-3. Guido (attested 1198)Guido: Rossi (1886), pp. 97-98. Guilelmus (attested 1210; 1232)Bishop Guilelmus attended the Milanese provincial council at Lodi on 21 May 1229. Guilelmus died in August 1232. Rossi (1886), p. 98. Rossi (1907), p. 365 note 1. Eubel, I, p. 528. Nicolaus Lercari (1232 – c. 1244)Nicolaus Lercari, Canon of the Church of S. Maria de Vineis in Genoa, was elected bishop by the Chapter of Ventimiglia on 15 August 1232. His name was submitted to Archbishop Guilelmus of Milan for confirmation, and on 8 September 1232 the Primicerius (Archdeacon) of Milan ordered him to appear for his canonical examination. There had been two candidates, the other being Fulco da Dervio, and there was a contested election. The Archbishop quashed the election, but an appeal to Rome awarded the office to Lercari. Lercari was removed by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. Ughelli, IV, pp. 302-305. Semerio II, pp. 492-494. Cappelletti, pp. 583-592. Rossi (1886), pp. 98-99. Rossi (1907), p. 365, 409. Jacobus de Castello Arquato, O,P. (1244–1250)Jacobus: Ughelli, pp. 305-307. Eubel, I, p. 528. Atto (1251–1262)Atto was still Electus when privileges were granted him, "in the absence of a bishop or Legate" by Pope Innocent IV on 17 January 1251. Eubel, I, p. 528. ? Norgandus Joannes de Alzati Ubertus Visconti (attested 1265)Ubertus was the brother of Otto, Archbishop of Milan. Ughelli, p. 307. Joannes (1297–1303)Joannes: Gams, p. 826. Eubel, I, p. 528.