“Festa di San Benedetto Martire” is celebrated on 13th October, the day on which the young Roman officer named Benedetto is accused of being a Christian and executed between 284 and 305 A.D. Tradition tells that he was beheaded over the bridge of the Menocchia torrent, and his remains were thrown into the same stream and then ended up in the sea.
The current carried him to the beach at the foot of the hill on which stood the current town of San Benedetto del Tronto. A peasant collected the martyr’s remains and took them to the top of the hill where, along with the other inhabitants, buried them. Around that tomb, the faithful built a chapel and since then is venerated for healing from headaches. Later, near the small oratory a parish church was built. From there the tomb of the saint was never moved.
There is a fragment of early Christian inscription – dated to 376 AD – still visible today in the church of San Benedetto Martire.
From the second half of the 17th century the feast became more important because his relics had been exposed permanently.