Saint Tropez was born in Pisa (Tuscany), under the name of Caïus Silvius Torpetius of patrician lineage. A brilliant officer, he was chosen by the emperor, to hold the charge of steward of his palace. He was converted by Saint-Paul while he was his custodian. Torpetius solemnly professed his faith during a feast organized by the Emperor, who condemned him to death forthwith. But the wild beasts laid themselves down at his feet, the pillar he was chained to, to be flogged, collapsed and killed the executioner. To put an end to it, he was beheaded. Torpetius' head is still kept in a chapel dedicated to his name, in Pisa. Every year, a group of Tropezians set off on a pilgrimage to Pisa on April the 29th, the day he was put to death. His body was laid in a boat with cockerel and a dog (symbols of malevolence in the Roman bestiary), at the mouth of the River Arno. Borne along by the Ligurian current, the boat with its precious load miraculously unharmed, ran on to the shores which were later to be namerd Saint- Tropez, on May 17th, 68 A.D.
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