Legend of San Mamiliano
Saint Mamilian of the Turks
Centuries later, Saint Mamilian was the patron of the island Giglio, and it was by then common practice to go to him when needed. Accustomed to pirate raids, Giglio Island was once again besieged by corsairs. For centuries, the buccaneers had oppressed the coasts with bloody ferocity, but on the fateful day of November 18, 1799, the situation was desperate.
The assailants, in crushing numbers, arrived in the Campese Bay. Their fleet was substantial: two frigates and five xebec ships. The Campese Tower was given up immediately, the population retreaded to the castle Giglio Castello and the island was invaded by a flood of pirates.
Natives were few and far between, and largely unarmed. They defended themselves just by firing for hours from the towers of the Castle and the island’s residents didn’t surrender, continuing to resist and to pray to Saint Mamilian, who sent a sign: the image of a band of soldiers, which appeared on the walls of the fortress. There were so many of them that it scared off the assailants and convinced them to disperse.