Tino is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 island situated in the Ligurian Sea

Ligurian Sea

The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the island of Corsica. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people.-Geography:...

, at the westernmost end of the Gulf of La Spezia. It is part of an archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 of three closely spaced islands jutting out south from the mainland at Portovenere

Portovenere

Porto Venere is a town and comune located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It comprises the three villages of Fezzano, Le Grazie and Porto Venere, and the three islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto...

. The largest of the three, Palmaria

Palmaria (island)

Palmaria is an Italian island situated in the Ligurian Sea, at the westernmost end of the Gulf of La Spezia. Measuring 1.6 km², it is the largest island of an archipelago of three closely spaced islands jutting out south from the mainland at Portovenere...

, lies to the north and the tiny Tinetto

Tinetto

Tinetto is an Italian island situated in the Ligurian Sea. It is part of an archipelago of three closely spaced islands jutting out south from the mainland at Portovenere...

 to the south.

In 1997, the archipelago, together with Portovenere and the Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. "The Five Lands" is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore...

, was designated by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 as a World Heritage Site.

History

The patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 of the Gulf of La Spezia, Saint Venerius

Venerius the Hermit

Saint Venerius was a monk and hermit. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and is the patron saint of the Gulf of La Spezia and, as of 1961, the patron saint of lighthouse keepers....

 , is said to have lived in on the island as a hermit, and later as abbot

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

, until his death in 630. His feast is celebrated here annually on 13 September. It is thought that a sanctuary was constructed at the place of Venerio's death to contain his remains and that this was extended to form a monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 in eleventh century. The remains of the monastery can be seen on the northern coast of the island.

Today the island, which is part of a military zone, is surmounted by a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

.

Sources

• Much of this article is based its equivalent in the Italian Wikipedia, Tino, as retrieved on 29 April 2006.
• Further information on Saint Venerius from The Book of Saints, London: A & C Black, 1989.