Among the various prodigies that enrich the legends on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, there is one in which the city of Alessandria also stars .
Around the 13th century it is reported that around Alessandria there were thick thickets where many fierce animals, including wolves lived. Legend has it that a she-wolf to feed her cubs began feeding on human children. At that very time St. Francis was passing through Alessandria, and so it was that the citizens asked for his help.
The friar went to the cave where the she-wolf lived and ordered her to become humble and meek toward humans. According to the account of historian Girolamo Ghilini: “The fierce she-wolf was so afraid of the hand of the saint of Assisi that she allowed herself to be ridden, tamed, by the children she had kidnapped so that she could devour them with impunity, leaving them free again to roam the streets around the Tanaro river”.
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