St. Tryphon

Saint Tryphon was born in Lampsaco, Phrygia (now north-western Turkey) in 232 AD to Christian parents. His martyrdom dates back to the time of the persecution of Decius (249-251). According to Eastern tradition, Tryphon was arrested and tortured for having refused obedience to the imperial edict which imposed to honor the pagan idols. He was martyred by beheading in Nicaea (in Minor Asia) at the age of eighteen, on 2^nd February 250. By hagiographic stories that we have inherited (the oldest dates back the 'VIII century) Tryphon is presented as a young geese factor, able to operate healings and exorcisms. St. Tryphon was held in high esteem by farmers in Greece for the protection of crops from locust invasions, from infestations of reptiles, insects and other species of dangerous vermin. Probably this tradition also spread in the South where, between the sixteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, due to invasions of locusts, many people started invoking the protection of the Saint.

Our Lady  of Martyrs

On September the 8th, Pulsano honors the patron of the city. This anniversary is a synthesis of religion and faith but also the historical memory for the entire Christian world.
How was the city placed under the protection of the Our Lady called "Regina Martirium"?
In 1480 Otranto was under the supremacy of Ferdinand II of Aragon. In order to cooperate with other States in northern Italy, he left unattended the coasts of the Kingdom. Venetians, concerned about the successes of the Aragonese Army, pushed Muhammad II for him to invade the kingdom of Naples. A large fleet was sent under the command of Visir Achimet Geidik: the landing began on 28 July 1480 in the waters of Otranto. The city was besieged and Achimet promised to save their life if they had converted to Islam and renounced to Christianity.  They strongly refused: many volunteers departed from the province of Taranto and among them the captain Giovanni Antonio De Falconibus and Captain Zurlo with forty men from Pulsano out of four hundred volunteers from the entire province. Their glorious holocaust to defend the Christianity caused astonishment in Pulsano. Since then, a particular devotion was paid to the Our Lady of Martyrs to whom a church (the present church of the Convent) was dedicated, and devotes started venerating an icon with the effigy of the Queen of Martyrs.