John Paul II visited the city on May 25, 1987. In 1996, by special decree, the President of the Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, confirmed for San Severo the title of city, historically acquired in 1580, and the establishment of the Sanseveresi diocese. In 1999, at the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, San Severo was presented two bills (respectively 6472 and 4370) for the establishment of the province of San Severo, comprising 22 municipalities in Tavoliere delle Puglie north of Gargano and Subappennino Dauno. Between October 31 and November 2, 2002, a violent earthquake, known as the Molise earthquake, damaged many buildings in the old village and caused the closure of some of its historic churches. Miracle of San Severino According to legend, the apparition of St Severino has appeared to the relief of his city on two occasions. In 1522, along with the apparition of St Sebastian, he appeared to warn about a looming army of mercenaries. Six years later, his apparition is credited with driving away the imperial army. During the War of Lautrec, San Severo was besieged and seized by the French general, who then promptly died. The town now feared retribution by the imperial army, who were at the walls. In order to avoid a long siege, the imperial soldiers feigned a withdrawal, intending to storm the town by surprise the next night. Legend holds that when the imperial troops returned the next night, before the walls of San Severo, they came upon a huge army under the command of a knight holding a bright sword in his right hand and a red flag in his left, and fled in fear. The next morning some people, unaware of the miracle, found some of the imperials asleep near the monastery of San Bernardino. The soldiers told the events of the night before, and the people agreed that their patron saint, San Severino, had personally defended them. The people then found that the altar cloth in the church had large hoofprints, a sign of their saintly defenders. On his feast day, each year, the town donates a hundred pounds of wax to the patron saint, proclaimed Defensor Patriae. From thence, the town's civic emblem is San Severino riding with a red flag in his right hand. Etymology The city derives its name from the patron saint San Severino, the owner of the church around which the castellum