Among all the eremites who over the centuries retreated on the Mount Epomeo, the story of Giuseppe d’Arguth or Nargouth is certainly particular. It started on the Castle, which the Flemish was the governor and the garrison Commanding Captain of until 1754, when he decided to leave his prestigious responsibilities in order to change life and become anchorite on the top of Punta Verde which dominates the island.
He arrived there for the first time by pursuing two soldiers, who had deserted, and hided themselves between the woods of the mount. He found them in a very isolated place, but while he was about to capture them, the horse stumbled and Joseph fell to the ground. The deserters where about to shot him when the captain invoked Saint Nicholas, to which the small church on the top was dedicated, vowing to dedicate his life to him, if the saint had saved him. The shots hit only his hat and his cape. D’Argouth was not injured at all. Soon after, he decided to respect his vow, retreating on the Epomeo where, with twelve other companions, he founded the hermitage. They dug the cells in the rock; they enlarged the church embellishing it in any way. He died in the odour of sanctity, remembered by the islanders through generations.
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