MISSING RELIQUARY FOUND 30 YEARS AFTER ITS THEFT

A priceless reliquary dedicated to an Italian saint who inspired a sword-in-the-stone legend similar to that of Excalibur has been recovered by police after being stolen more than 30 years ago. The 13th-century gold and silver reliquary was stolen along with early medieval chalices and devotional objects from the Seminary of Monteriggioni, a medieval walled village in Tuscany, in 1989. The reliquary is dedicated to Saint Galgano, who started life as Galgano Guidotti, a rich nobleman and warrior in 12th century Italy. According to legend, after seeing a miraculous vision of the Archangel Michael he repented of his violent past, climbed to the top of a hill and thrust his sword into a stone. His sword, still stuck in the stone, is the centrepiece of a church in Montesiepi.