His story is shrouded in legend and steeped in deep devotion. He had a close bond with the largest Romanesque building in Sardinia, located in a panoramic position. The church of San Gavino A Mare, also known as the church of Balai Vicino, is a sanctuary built in the mid-19th century on a limestone rock overlooking the sea, close to the beach of Balai, on the coast of Porto Torres. The building stands on the point where the eastern necropolis of the ancient Roman city of Turris Libisonis once lay and, in fact, from inside you can enter one of the hypogea dug out of the rock beneath the sanctuary. According to tradition, the martyrs Gavino, Proto and Gianuario were held prisoner here and, after being beheaded by the will of the Roman governor of Sardinia and Corsica at that time, were also buried here.

The legend concerning the founding of the main religious building of Porto Torres, the Basilica of San Gavino, is linked to this tradition: suffering from leprosy, the judge of Torres Comita saw Gavino in a dream, during which Gavino promised him he would be healed if he found the bodies of the three martyrs. The judge found them in Balai and had the great basilica built in their honour in the 11th century, thus earning his healing. Tradition, legend and devotion come together every year on the occasion of the Festha Manna: on 3 May, when worshippers leave the basilica, carrying the three wooden statues of the martyrs to the church of Balai. The simulacra remain here until Whit Sunday: during those days the church is the destination of continuous pilgrimages by worshippers from all over the Island. On Whit Sunday afternoon, a new procession follows the route in reverse, carrying the statues back to the basilica. The next day the ‘big party’ begins, with shows, cultural events and festivals.

The church of San Gavino stands on top of a rocky outcrop adjacent to the beach of Balai. It is a building with a single nave and a barrel vault supported by dobleaux (transverse arches). Behind the altar, you will notice a door that connects the presbytery to a space built from limestone blocks, perhaps an ancient Roman cistern. On the west wall, an apsidal niche contains an altar made of blocks of tuff. On the left-hand side, beyond a gate, you can enter the ancient hypogea. The façade is simple, without decorations and featuring plaster and white paint. On the right-hand side, three buttresses support the building, which is subjected to bad weather because of its position.

A two-kilometre walk along the seafront will then take you to the church of San Gavino Ischabizzaddu or of Balai Lontano. It is a small space, made of limestone and with a barrel vault, built over another ‘legendary’ place: it is here that Gavino, Proto and Gianuario appear to have been beheaded. Another version of the legend tells us that their bodies emerged in this point.