The identification of skeletal remains of saints and historical characters

Aim of this work is to display the anthropological contribution in multidisciplinary studies aimed at “identifying” historical characters. The skeletal remains examined belonged to subjects with the following presumed identities: Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1444 – 1476), duke of Milano during the period of Leonardo da Vinci; Saint Nazaro (II century a.C.) and Saint Evasio (I century a. C), martyrs in Northern Italy. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses were performed on skeletal remains for sexing, aging, race determination, presence of pathologies, etc. and C14 analysis in order to verify the compatibility between each skeleton and the historical character it had been attributed to. Facial reconstruction was also performed. Then skeletal data and biographical data were compared. Galeazzo Maria Sforza: male skull, supposed age 35 – 40 years, caucasoid ancestry, signs of blunt force, stress markers around the age of 9, died in 1447 +/- 50 yrs. High compatibility with archaeological and historical sources was determined. Saint Nazaro: male, age between 54 – 70 years, mediterranean acestry subtype, nutritional deficit during growth, probable signs of decapitation, died around 300 a.C. High compatibility with archaeological and historical sources. Saint Evasio: male, aged between 50 and 59 years, mediterranean ancestry subtype, rib fractures (thoracic trauma) several weeks before death, died 230 a.C.. High compatibility with archaeological and historical sources. In the case of historical remains, true identity can never be assessed except in rare cases in which DNA analysis is possible. However exclusion or different degrees of compatibility can be ascertained.