His life - His charisma - His legacy - The tradition
St. Martin’s Fair in Alzano - Iconography

His life

St. Martin of Tours was born in Sabaria, Pannonia (present-day Hungary) in 316 A.D., the son of an officer of the Roman army.

He received a Christian education in Pavia, his father’s hometown. He manifested a desire to live as a hermit since the age of 10, but was instead forced to undertake the military career, which he carried out with professionalism - yet never neglecting the essence of his Chistian spirit.

The historic episode that makes him renown all around Europe took place at that time: one night, in Amiens, he met a beggar crying for help. Martin, who was not carrying neither money nor food, parted his cloak in half with the sword so that the poor man had at least something to wear. According to tradition, the night after, Jesus appeared to him in a dream clothed with his half cloak. In fact, Christ once said: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”. After this event, Martin got baptized and abandoned the military life, which in his view had now become a reality incompatible with the Christian life.