If you don’t know what time it is in Cupertino right now, chances are, you iPhone is keeping track.  Apple is based in Cupertino, and over the past two decades, Cupertino has become almost synonymous with Apple. However, the city and its name date back long before the iPod and iMac ever made their debut.

Unlike other nearby towns, Cupertino’s name doesn’t have a Spanish origin. It’s Italian. Cupertino was named after a Catholic saint, Joseph of Cupertino (also called Giuseppe da Copertino), who lived in the Renaissance era. Some people claimed he had mystical powers, such as levitation; some claimed he was slow to learn and absent-minded in his younger days. He was beatified in the 1700s and is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots and people with learning disabilities.

Cupertino the city was named after a creek a Spanish explorer found; he then named the creek after the saint. However, the creek is now called Stevens Creek.

Cupertino was incorporated in the mid-1950s, and the idea of Silicon Valley began to take root in the early 1960s. Soon after, computers came on the scene. As mentioned, Cupertino is the worldwide headquarters for Apple Inc. The modern circular complex and surrounding campus house about 13,000 workers.