Feast of Saint Venerius in Porto Venere (13.09.2021)

13 SEPTEMBER – PORTOVENERE (SP)

During the Feast of San Venerio the island of Tino offers itself to the eyes of visitors.
A rare wind that occurs only two days a year on the occasion of the celebrations in honor of the Saint born in about 560 on Palmaria Island and was a monk hermit in the cenobium once existing on Tino Island.

On his death, occurred in 630, to remember it, was built, first, in the seventh century, a small sanctuary and then, in the eleventh a Benedictine monastery: the Abbey of San Venerio, whose ruins are still visible. The hermit is patron saint of the Gulf of La Spezia and, already protector of the city of Luni, is also from 1961, protector of the fanatics of Italy, that is of those who take care of the operation of the marine lighthouses.

The legend, in fact, attributes to Venerius the construction of a rudimentary sail used for the rescue of some shipwrecked and it is handed down that, lighting fires on the beach, signaled to the sailors the right direction to follow.

In memory of this practice, for the feast of the saint, Porto Venere is traditionally lit with bonfires.

The island of Tino is located at the western end of the Gulf of La Spezia and its territory is part of the municipality of Porto Venere.

Centrally located between Isola Palmaria, to the north, and Isola del Tinetto to the south, it is entirely reserved for a military zone.

For this reason it is possible to visit it only in two moments during the year: on the day of the feast dedicated to San Venerio and the following Sunday.

For the occasion, the Consorzio Marittimo Turistico 5 Terre Golfo dei Poeti offers boats to reach the island with departures from La Spezia, Porto Venere and Lerici.