During Late Antiquity, the cult of the saints and their relics became a key element of Western identity, but also a window from which to peer into society, culture and dominant beliefs. In this book the reader is invited to perceive the longings, the certainties and the great appreciation of the saints, invisible companions whose presence the Christians in general felt vividly. Saints and servants, devout and lax, rich and poor, are entrusted to the saints without exception, in search of lost health, tainted justice, ideal beauty and hope that extends beyond death. The reading of these pages questions at its root the «two-level model», according to which the religious practices of the cultivated elites had little to do with the «superstitions» of the popular masses. On the contrary, the cult of the saints affected all classes equally; moreover, it was the engine that favored the development of the faith and that shaped a new society, beginning of the Middle Ages. This work, converted into a classic of historical studies, has been enriched with a new preface where the author responds to criticism and qualifies the conclusions of his well-known research.