We report the high S/N observation on October 3, 2002 with XMM-Newton of the brightest X-ray flare detected so far from Sgr A* with a duration shorter than one hour (∼2.7 ks). The light curve is almost symmetrical with respect to the peak flare, and no significant difference between the soft and hard X-ray range is detected. The overall flare spectrum is well represented by an absorbed power-la...