From the site:
In 1860, a band of soldiers from the army of Garibaldi
entered the mountain village of Isola, Italy. They began
to burn and pillage the town, terrorizing it's inhabitants.
Possenti, with his seminary rector's permission,
walked into the center of town, unarmed, to face the
terrorists. One of the soldiers was dragging off a young
woman he intended to rape when he saw Possenti and
made a snickering remark about such a young monk
being all alone.
Possenti quickly grabbed the soldier's revolver from his
belt and ordered the marauder to release the woman.
The startled soldier complied, as Possenti grabbed the
revolver of another soldier who came by. Hearing the
commotion, the rest of the soldiers came running in
Possenti's direction, determined to overcome the
rebellious monk.
At that moment a small lizard ran across the road
between Possenti and the soldiers. When the lizard
briefly paused, Possenti took careful aim and struck
the lizard with one shot. Turning his two handguns on
the approaching soldiers, Possenti commanded them
to drop their weapons. Having seen his handiwork with
a pistol, the soldiers complied. Possenti ordered them
to put out the fires they had set, and upon finishing,
marched the whole lot out of town, ordering them never
to return. The grateful townspeople escorted Possenti
in triumphant procession back to the seminary,
thereafter referring to him as "the Savior of Isola".
