The Saint who became the Patron Saint of Sanremo

The activity of Bishop Romulus in the territory of Sanremo is dated approximately between the 7th and 8th century in the context of religious relations between the bishopric of Genoa and the Villa Matutiana. The saint, who lived for many years in the woods surrounding the village, preaching the Gospel and continuing the conversion to Christianity of the population already initiated by his predecessors, had gone to our area probably to save himself from the harassment that the Lombards, of Arian faith, carried out against Catholics, or perhaps also to alleviate the burdensome commitments that kept him busy in Genoa by moving to a more isolated and quiet location.

As soon as he arrived at the Villa Matutiana, he chose a solitary cave on the slopes of Monte Bignone, later called "Bauma", in perfect harmony with the spirit of penitence of the time, when many hermitages and monasteries were founded in secluded and uninhabited places, as was his own. However, it is probable that in the place chosen by the saint as his hermitage, there was already an inhabited fortified structure, called castellum de Cairasco, a name perhaps derived from that of the stream located near Bauma, known as rian de Cairasca. This fortification may correspond to, or be a more recent reconstruction of, the ancient Roman castellum, which was located in the same area.

According to a reliable historical hypothesis, however, St Romulus did not choose a completely isolated place as his home, but rather a place where a pastoral and agricultural community had its origins in Roman times. During his stay in Matuzian territory, the saint carried out an intense preaching and evangelising activity, visiting both the coastal towns and the small inland villages and performing numerous miracles.

The legend that soon spread around this character narrates that Saint Romulus defended the village inhabited by the Matuzians from the attack of marauders and pirates, perhaps the Saracens themselves, praying with his arms raised or putting them to flight with his sword wielded. Even after being elected bishop of Genoa, Romulus visited the Villa Matutiana several times, where he stayed for a long time. In the same Bauma where he had spent so many years in prayer and penance, he died on 13th October of an unspecified year, which can be dated, with some uncertainty, to the second half of the 7th century or the beginning of the 8th century.

In order to save his body from the risk of possible desecration or destruction by the Saracens, the bishop of Genoa, Sabatino, went to "Bauma" around 890, took the saint's relics and brought them back to Genoa, where they were buried in a solemn ceremony at the tomb of St Syrus in the cathedral of San Lorenzo.
Many centuries later, on 27 June 1681, part of his relics returned to San Remo to be placed in the church of San Siro. After his beatification and canonization, Saint Romulus was unanimously proclaimed protector and patron saint of the Matutians and his name became identified with that of Villa Matutiana itself, which, from the 10th century onwards, had begun to be called "Castrum Sancti Romuli", corresponding to the small village that had grown up in the meantime on top of Pigna.

(source from Andrea Gandolfo's notes)