Tino (island)

Infobox World Heritage Site
Name = Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)


State Party = ITA
Type = Cultural
Criteria = ii, iv, v
ID = 826
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1997
Session = 21st
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/826

Tino is an Italian island situated in the Ligurian Sea, at the westernmost end of the Gulf of La Spezia . It is part of an archipelago of three closely spaced islands jutting out south from the mainland at Portovenere. The largest of the three, Palmaria, lies to the north and the tiny Tinetto to the south.

In 1997, the archipelago, together with Portovenere and the Cinque Terre, was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

History

The patron saint of the Gulf of La Spezia, Saint Venerius in it|San Venerio, is said to have lived in on the island as a hermit, and later as abbot, until his death in 630. [No reliable account exists of Venerius’ life. Some place it in the ninth century.] 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 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.

Notes

ources

*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.

World Heritage Sites in Italy