In the mid-second century, Costanzo was a young christian who was noted for his zeal and his charity towards the poor in the church of the city of Perugia. He was elected bishop of Perugia at the young age of 30. Since the laws regarding the prosecution of christians had not yet been removed at that time, under the emperor Marcus Aurelius (160-180 AD), Costanzo was condemned to death together with some of his companions. He was reported to the Empire by someone who wanted to lay his hands on the Church's wealth.
The legend narrates that Costanzo was imprisoned in the calidarium of the roman Baths heated at an oven's temperature; but Costanzo remained uninjured. Thanks to his orations and to those of the other condemned,a bright light appeared, so bright that it led all the guards at the thermal bath to convert to christianity.
The guards, once baptised, urged San Costanzo to flee "etvenerunt ad locum qui dicitur Monticellus et ibidum moratisunt multis diebus cum Anastasio Dei famulo... " (andthey arrived at a place called Monticelli and they remained there for many days together with God's servant Anastasio...). Costanzo stayed at Monticelli for nearly three weeks, where he was once again captured by roman soldiers. Miraculously freed and imprisoned a third time, he was beheaded by a sword around the year 178.
The legend that he had been at Monticelli was still alive in the early14th century, more than a thousand years later, when the benedictine monks of the rich monastery of San Pietro in Perugia commissioned the frescos which are still visble in the chapel of Borgo Monticelli. The frescos were painted in 1315-19 by Meo da Siena, an artist of the Giotto school well known to the scholars. The benedictine monks commissioned also a life-size figure of San Costanzo.
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