The relationship between Pisa, Spain and Provence is highlighted by the martyrdom of St. Torpes, an officer at Nero's court who was converted to Christianity and baptized here. He was subjected to excruciating torture and finally beheaded near the mouth of the Arno. Legend has it that his body, abandoned on a boat together with a dog and a cock, arrived in Spain, while his head was kept as a relic in the present-day Church of San Torpè.
From the veneration for this Christian martyr, who probably came from Spain or the East, took their names the gulf and town of Saint Tropez, whose inhabitants commemorate the saint by going on a pilgrimage to Pisa every year on 29 April.
The Pisans themselves venerate the saint from when he stopped the plague in 1632. The bones of the saint are now preserved in a silver bust on the high altar. The church dates from the 13th century, when it adjoined a friary. It belonged to various orders until it passed to its current occupants, the Discalced Carmelites. Like other Pisan churches, it was remodelled in the 18th century.
The interior preserves an original painting by the Florentine Mannerist Marucelli. It consists of a large central canvas depicting 'St. Charles before the Crucifix' and 16 small round, oval or square canvases arranged symmetrically around the main picture.
Where: Via Carducci - Pisa
Web: www.pisaturismo.it
