Saint Clement and Sisinnius inscription

In a scene taken from the Passio Sancti Clementis ("Martyrdom of Saint Clement"), a certain Sisinnius (implied to be a corrupt master or boss) is instructing his servants to drag Saint Clement off to prison, unaware that the latter has escaped and that what they are dragging along is really a stone column.

[2] Sisinnius and his workmen speak in an early form of Romanesco, whilst Saint Clement expresses himself in Medieval Latin.

This juxtaposition of the 'rude' vernacular with the 'holy' liturgical language is deliberate and meant to reflect the different moral standings of the characters involved.

The expression falite is composed of fa 'do.IMP', li 'him.DAT' and te 'you.ACC', an order that follows the so-called Tobler-Mussafia Law.

The name Carvoncelle, ultimately derived from Latin carbonem 'charcoal', shows the passage of /rb/ to /rv/, a change characteristic of Romanesco as well as other Central Italian dialects.