The patron saint of Tito is Saint Laviero, protomartyr, celebrated on 7 September, with a solemn triduum of prayers beginning on the 4th, and on 17 November, the day commemorating his martyrdom, which took place in the ancient Roman city of Grumentum in 312 AD. According to legend, Laviero came to Grumentum to preach the Christian religion and, on 14 July of that year, escaped the persecutions of Agrippa, the governor of Lucania, who had had him arrested in the name of the gods; unable to make him convert, Agrippa ordered him thrown to the wild beasts, but instead of devouring him, they crouched at his feet, turning threateningly against their own master. Brought back to prison, an angel appeared to Laviero and opened the doors of his cell, urging him to flee; he was however captured again at Grumentum and beheaded before the whole people on 17 November 312.
Tito welcomed the saint's cult with such devotion that it elected him patron and principal protector of the town: in his honour the mother church was built in 1465, still dedicated to him today. According to Tito's tradition, those who feel unwell or are struck by serious illnesses may tie a red ribbon to the arm of the saint's wooden statue, imploring his grace. Damaged by the earthquake of 23 November 1980, the mother church was entirely rebuilt and reconsecrated on 26 July 2009. Among the town's other religious traditions are the feast of the Madonna del Carmine, celebrated on the second Sunday of May and on 8 September, and that of Saint Vitus the martyr, on 12 June.
