Martyrs of Turris

The Holy Martyrs Gavinus, Protus and Januarius are called the Martyrs of Turris, that is, of Turris Libisonis, now Porto Torres, in Sardinia. They suffered in the fourth century, around the year 300, according to the Roman Martyrology. According to a twelfth-⁠century passio, Gavinus was a soldier who guarded in prison Protus, a priest, and Januarius, a deacon, who had suffered for their faith; Gavinus himself turned to the Lord, and all three died as martyrs. Local tradition says they were beheaded and their heads thrown into the sea.

Their relics were found in 1614 and are kept in the basilica of San Gavino at Porto Torres, the largest and oldest Romanesque church of Sardinia. In icons they are usually shown with Gavinus in the middle and Protus and Januarius on either side. Each year, at their feast, called Festha Manna, three wooden statues are carried in procession from the basilica to a small church where there are three Roman tombs cut in stone, and they remain there until Pentecost. They are saints of the undivided Church, venerated in the Catholic Church.