page_title: Giordano Forzatè
section_title: Arrest, exile and death
hierarchical_section_title: Giordano Forzatè / Arrest, exile and death
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Le spoglie del beato Giordano Forzatè a San Benedetto Vecchio
context_page_description: Giordano Forzatè, anglicized Jordan Forzatè, was a Paduan Benedictine monk and religious leader. For his noble background, peacemaking efforts and monastic reforms, the Chronicle of the Trevisan March calls him the pater Padue, "father of Padua".
context_section_description: In 1235, Giordano supported the election of Azzo VII d'Este as podestà of Vicenza. The following year the city was occupied by the Emperor Frederick II, who entrusted it to Ezzelino III. On 25 February 1237, Ezzelino also took control of Padua. At first, fearing reprisals, Giordano took refuge in his family's castle at Montemerlo, but he later returned to the city, where he was arrested in June. The bishop of Padua and Pope Gregory IX intervened on his behalf with the emperor, who ordered his release. He was not allowed to remain in Padua, however, as a concession to Ezzelino. Giordano's later reputation as the "father of Padua" owes much to his showdown with Ezzelino, who became the archetypal tyrant in Paduan historical memory.
  In exile, Giordano went first to the patriarchate of Aquileia, where he is recorded on 26 May 1239. He later decided to leave the Empire entirely and took refuge in the monastery of Santa Maria della Celestia in the Republic of Venice. He died there on 7 August 1248. His body was returned to Padua in 1260. In the following century, a hagiographical tradition developed. His cult was approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1767. His feast is celebrated on 7 August.
caption: The incorrupt body of Giordano in Padua
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