The patron saint of Pontedera is Saint Faustinus, a martyr who lived in the 3rd century, celebrated on the second Thursday of October.
His relics, translated from Rome in the 17th century, are kept in the Duomo di Pontedera, the provostry of Saints James and Philip, where his patronal feast is celebrated every year. From the Renaissance onwards, the town increasingly took on the character of a strongly commercial municipality, gaining authorisation first for an annual fair and later for a weekly market, still alive today at the heart of the town.
