Porto Torres, Church of San Gavino a Mare

The seafront of Porto Torres wind along the limestone coast pierced by caves of natural erosion. The church is on a cliff high above the sea.
The church was built around 1850 on the place traditionally venerated as the first burial of the Turritan martyrs Gavino, Proto and Gianuario.
The chapel, usually closed, is opened throughout the month of May, when the wooden simulacra of the three saints preserved in the Basilica of San Gavino is transferred to it.
Around the small building and connecting with it, there are three rooms, partly carved into the rock, in which archaeological research has recognized burial use in Roman and early medieval times. The environment visible from the entrance square through the grate is a Roman hypogeum, while the one next to the street of the current church would be the supposed tomb of the three martyrs; finally, the one created behind the altar, covered in a barrel, is probably a 7th century chapel.

Bibliography
I. Principe, Sassari. Alghero. Castelsardo. Porto Torres, Bari, Laterza, 1983;
Sardinia, “Guide to Italy” series, Milan, Italian Touring Club, 1996.

How to get
To Porto Torres, leave Piazza Colombo bordering the port along Via Mare, continuing along the Scogliolungo and Balai waterfront, to the church of San Gavino a Mare or Balai.