On January 20th, the feast day of San Sebastiano is celebrated. Sebastiano was a high official in Diocletian’s imperial army. Once his Christian faith was discovered, he was sentenced to death: in the open countryside, he was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. Believed dead by the soldiers, he was left there to be eaten by wild animals. According to tradition, when his blood soaked the ground, the dry tree to which he was tied produced oranges. In reality, San Sebastiano was not dead and was cared by the Christian Irene. He was then martyred around 304 AD for continuing to uphold his faith.
Even today, on the day of his commemoration, oranges are blessed and distributed. San Sebastiano is the protector of the municipal police and, for our town, he is the protector of the shoulders.
