San Terenzo
| San Terenzo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Italy | ||
| region | Liguria | ||
| province | La Spezia (SP) | ||
| local community | Lerici | ||
| Coordinates | 44 ° 5 ' N , 9 ° 54' E | ||
| height | 15 m slm | ||
| Residents | 1,200 (2000) | ||
| Demonym | Santerenzini | ||
| patron | San Terenzo | ||
| Telephone code | 0187 | CAP | 19036 |
| Website | Official website | ||
San Terenzo is an Italian village in the Ligurian province of La Spezia and is also a district ( Frazione ) of the municipality ( Comune ) of Lerici .
location
San Terenzo is 1 km from Lerici . The place can be reached via the state road SP 331 either from La Spezia, 5 km away, or from Sarzana . The place itself is right by the sea and has a small port. To the west the place is bordered by a medieval fort . There is a small sandy beach in front of the promenade.
Origin of name
San Terenzo got its current name in the Middle Ages. The oldest document that names the place as Santo Terencio dates from March 6, 1218. The legendary patron saint is a rich pilgrim from late antiquity who came from Scotland to the coast after a shipwreck. He gave the inhabitants of the place ample gifts of material and spiritual goods and is said to have become Bishop of Luni . He then continued his journey to Rome, but was ambushed and killed by bandits. His body was buried in San Terenzo ai Monti, a district of Fivizzano in the nearby province of Massa-Carrara . However, the exact chronology of these events has not been proven.
history
The history of San Terenzo goes back to ancient times . In Roman times the place was called Portus Dei , later Portiolo , which etymologically can be interpreted as an olive port . In the Middle Ages, the place was an important meeting place for pilgrims and achieved great importance due to a hospital that was located here. The fort also dates back to the Middle Ages, which the residents built on a cliff above the sea as a defense against pirate attacks. The church of Santa Maria Vergine was built around 1600 on the foundation of an ancient building and is located in the center of the village. Between 1809 and 1819, San Terenzo became the headquarters during the Napoleonic era.
In 1822 Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley lived in the Villa Magni. Lord Byron also stayed there on a visit in the summer of 1822 . On July 8, 1822, Shelley was caught in a storm and drowned on his way back from Livorno in his sailing boat. Byron had the body cremated on the beach in Viareggio , where the body was washed up. The popularity of Shelley and Byron led to the name Golfo dei Poeti (Gulf of Poets) for the Gulf of La Spezia and attracted tourists and writers. In the decades that followed, other celebrities came to San Terenzo, including Arnold Böcklin , Paolo Mantegazza , David Herbert Lawrence , Virginia Woolf and Gabriele D'Annunzio .
Traditions
Every year on the first Sunday in August, water sports enthusiasts from San Terenzo take part in the Palio del Golfo , a rowing competition in the Gulf of La Spezia, in which the teams from La Spezia , Lerici , Porto Venere , Tellaro , Canaletto, Le Grazie , Fezzano , Cadimare , Marola , Fossamastra , Muggiano and Venere Azzurra are represented. The Palio is part of the Festa del Mare , a ship show of the neighboring communities.
