Saint Martin of Tours was born in 316 in Savaria (present-day Hungary) in the Roman Empire. He died in Candes, in Gaul, on 8 November 397. A Roman legionary, he became Bishop of Tours in 371. The cult of Martin was noted in the region from the eleventh century, at the cape bearing his name. A chapel...
Saint Martin of Tours was born in 316 in Savaria (present-day Hungary) in the Roman Empire. He died in Candes, in Gaul, on 8 November 397. A Roman legionary, he became Bishop of Tours in 371. The cult of Martin was noted in the region from the eleventh century, at the cape bearing his name. A chapel, once dedicated to Saint Martin and built to the east of the Rocher, was mentioned in the thirteenth century. It fell into disuse following the construction of the Saint Nicolas parish church. Prince Honoré II restored it in 1630 and returned it to use for worship. It was destroyed in 1755. In the early nineteenth century, the development of the Saint-Martin Gardens by Prince Honoré V preserved the memory of the old chapel’s dedication. In 1911, the Saint Martin parish was established in the Plati district, perpetuating the cult of Saint Martin in Monaco. Saint Martin is often depicted as a Roman legionary splitting his cloak in two to share with a beggar. Mussner’s statue, located in the oratory at the foot of Avenue Saint-Martin, depicts him with the episcopal crosier.
The Mussner G. Vincenzo studio is in Ortisei, in the Dolomites of north-eastern Italy. Val Gardena is known as the “Valley of Wood Sculptures”. In 1892, the master sculptor Giacomo Mussner founded a highly renowned studio, and since then five generations of sculptors have continued the family tradition. As masters of religious art, the Mussners regularly won awards and received commissions from many countries. In 1998, Pope John Paul II blessed a statue of Mary of Nazareth created by Gregor Mussner, the son of Vincenzo Giacomo.
