Saint Magnus of Cuneo ( it, San Magno) is venerated as a martyr and member of the legendary

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, a ...

. The center of his cult is situated at the mountain sanctuary known as the Santuario di San Magno, in the Valle Grana,

Castelmagno Castelmagno (Vivaro-Alpine: ''Chastèlmanh'') is a small ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about west of Cuneo. The population of the municipality of Caste ...

, in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

. His feast day is August 19.

Legend

Local tradition says he was a soldier of the Theban Legion, which had been commanded by

Saint Maurice Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that Ma ...

. The Legion, is supposed to have been decimated at

Agaunum Agaunum was an outpost in Roman Switzerland, predecessor of the modern city of Saint-Maurice in the canton of Valais, southwestern Switzerland. It was used by the Roman Empire for the collection of the '' Quadragesima Galliarum''. In Christian tr ...

in 286 AD, but Magnus fled to the mountains of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, preaching the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

religion in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. He was eventually martyred and buried in the spot now occupied by the Santuario di San Magno. The church, however, may have occupied a spot once dedicated to the

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. The current church was built between 1704 and 1716, in Piedmontese

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style, though its interior still preserves

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

of the 15th and 16th centuries. Castelmagno-Santuario

As Damiano Pomi points out, neither documentary nor archaeological evidence supports the connection between Magnus and the Theban Legion. Similar to the cults of

Saint Chiaffredo Saint Chiaffredo (''Chiaffredus, Theofredus, Ciafrè, Chaffre, Teofredo, Jafredo, Jafredus, Eufredus, Jofredus, Sinfredus, Zaffredus'') is venerated as the patron saint of Saluzzo, Italy. Tradition considers him a member of the Theban Legion, but i ...

Crissolo Crissolo ( Vivaro-Alpine: ''Criçòl'', French: Crusol) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo, on the border with France. The source ...

Saint Bessus Saint Bessus, sometimes ''Besse'', ( it, San Besso) is venerated as a member of the legendary Theban Legion, whose members were led by Saint Maurice and were martyred for their Christian faith in the 3rd century. Except for St. Maurice's cult, v ...

at Val Soana, Saint Tegulus at

Ivrea Ivrea (; pms, Ivrèja ; ; lat, Eporedia) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it stradd ...

Saint Constantius Constantius of Perugia (also known as Costantius, Constance or Costanzo) (died c. 170 AD) is one of the patron saints of Perugia, Italy. Legend According to his legend, of which four versions exist, he was arrested during the persecutions of Ant ...

Villar San Costanzo Villar San Costanzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. As of 31 August 2007, it had a population of 1,474 and an area of .All demo ...

, and Saint Dalmatius at Borgo San Dalmazzo, the cult of Saint Magnus was linked with that of the Theban Legion to lend antiquity to a local saint about whom nothing was really known. Magnus has been identified with

Magnus of Füssen Saint Magnus of Füssen, otherwise Magnoald or Mang, was a missionary saint in southern Germany, also known as the Apostle of the Allgäu. He is believed to have been a contemporary either of Saint Gall (died 627) or of Saint Boniface (died 754) an ...

(Mang), a later monk of the same name associated with the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau cast ...

, whose cult would have spread south to Piedmont by the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. However, due to his association with the Theban Legion, Magnus was depicted as a Roman soldier holding a banner and the palm of martyrdom. He should not be confused with

Magnus of Anagni Saint Magnus of Anagni ( it, San Magno di Anagni), also known as ''Magnus of Trani'' or ''Magnus of Fabrateria Vetus'', is venerated as the patron saint of Anagni. Traditional narrative According to tradition, he was born in Trani, Apulia, Trani ...

, whose

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

occurs on the same day.

References

External links

San Magno
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus Of Cuneo 3rd-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown