To have a better understanding of how
it happened that such a big and impressive church was built
in Rovinj, we first have to explain who was St. Euphemia,
and why she became the patron-saint of the town.
the time of Tsar Diokletian many Christians were captured,
persecuted and killed. Among them was a young girl called
Euphemia from Chalcedon, a town in Asia Minor. She was born
in 290 to a well-known patrician family.
When she was fifteen years old, she was arrested by Diocletian's
soldiers, and when she refused to give up Christianity, she
was tortured with cruelty (on a wheel). She still remained
loyal to Christ, and was thrown to the lions who eventually
killed her but did not devour her body.
There are no historical data about the life of this saint,
but it is known that she died on March 16, 304. Christians
from Chalcedon preserved the body of the martyr until 620 when
the town was captured by the Persians. The sarcophagus with
the body of St. Euphemia was then transferred to Constantinople,
and placed in a magnificent church which was built in her honour
by Tsar Constantine. In 800 the Iconoclasts (icon-slashers)
came to power, and the Christians were forced to remove the
relics of St. Euphemia.
It is hard to say what happened next. People say that a marble
sarcophagus came floating in the sea to the coast of Rovinj
after a big storm at dawn of July 13, 800. It is said that
many people of Rovinj tried to haul the sarcophagus to the
Church of Saint George, but no one succeded. Finally, answering
to St. Euphemia's call, a small boy with two little cows managed
to haul the sarcophagus up the hill.
people of Rovinj considered it a miracle, and they proclaimed
St. Euphemia the patron-saint of the town. St. Euphemia's Day
is celebrated on September 16. Many visitors come to Rovinj
to participate in the grandious celebration with rich program
which takes place on the main square in Rovinj. Traditionally,
on St. Euphemia's Day people eat mutton with sauerkraut ('ovca
z kapuzom') and 'fritule' an Istrian delicacy.