Parish and Collegiate Church of San Martino Vescovo

Address and contacts

Via Facci, 16 - 42018 San Martino in Rio
Phone 0039 0522 698135 - Parish of San Martino Rio

How to get there

See the indication to reach San Martino in Rio

Historical notes

The church of San Martino was mentioned in the Papal Bull of 1144-1146 with the title of Chapel in the rural community of Prato. In 1395, Filippo Roberti son of Nicola founded the Chapel of San Giovanni. Since then, the church has always been distinct from the parish or main church of San Martino in Rio.
During the Bishops’ visits that took place between 1543 and 1593, the Church of San Martino “in castro” and the Chapel of San Giovanni Evangelista “in arce seu in fortilicio” have always been referred to as two separate entities.
In the late 16th century, the Marquis Filippo I from the House of Este, one of the most illustrious feudal lords of San Martino, was granted permission by Pope Gregory XIV to build a collegiate church in his tiny district capital. In 1591, the Pope founded the Collegiate Church with a Papal Bull which removed the status of parish from three other churches, namely the Archpresbyteriate of Prato, the Priory Gazzata, and the Rectorate of San Martino, and thereupon granted the estates to the new Collegiate Church.
In 1599, following the demolition of the old church, the image of the Madonna del Pilastro was removed from the painting of the “Santissima Trinità” attributed to Domenico Tintoretto, son of Jacopo. The image of the Virgin was placed in the new building, together with the 14th-century capital to be used as a baptismal font, bearing the coat of arms of the first feudal lords of the village, the Roberti da Tripoli family.
The new church was dedicated to St. Martin, Bishop of Tours and St. Venerius the Martyr, whose relics are conserved in an old reliquary donated by Margherita di Savoia Este, Marchesa of San Martino in the 18th century.
The feudal lords of the village, the Marquises of the House of Este San Martino, commissioned and funded the construction of the new church which started in 1600, almost on the same site as the original 11th-century church.
The church has a Greek cross layout with four corner chapels, making it into a square plan. The presbytery was subsequently added, as were the chapels of the House of Este, now dedicated to the Holy Sacrament, and of the Cristo Morto (Dead Christ). The church interior has a nave and two aisles, with ten altars and a dome.
In 1700, one last chapel was added by converting the former sacristy. Above the point of intersection of the cross plan, there is a dome surmounted by a lantern, and four other smaller domes above the side chapels. The church underwent restoration works in 1720, 1797, 1856, 1892, and finally in 1934. Construction of the neoclassical façade started in the second half of the 18th century. By 1800 one of the twin towers planned for each side of the presbytery was completed and by the mid-19th century, the now transformed façade was also completed.
The church interior is interesting from both an architectural and artistic point of view. Numerous important works of art as well as church ornaments and vestments are found inside the church. Of note are the altarpieces, the frontals in scagliola from Carpi, and the fabrics conserved in the sacristy. The painting of St. Martin giving his cloak to the pauper can be dated to the end of the 16th century and can be identified as the work of a local painter by the characteristics typical of the mannerists school from the Emilia region.
The canvas of San Carlo Borromeo in prayer and of the Virgin with Infant Jesus in glory dates to the beginning of the 17th century and is probably from the school of Ferrara.
The canvas of the Madonna with Infant Jesus on the throne, St. Joseph, St. Peter, and St. Francis is the 18th-century work of a local painter.
The painting of the Annunciation is a fine work with stylistic features typical of the Bologna school of the late 16th century.
The Trinity with angels and the saints Francis and John the Baptist contains a frescoed insert depicting the Madonna with Infant Jesus. This 15th-century fresco is set within this large canvas which provides the glory setting and the background.
The mixture of colours, the vivid depictions of the angels and the Glory with the Trinity, and the dense chiaroscuro effect of the figures in the foreground, indicate that the painting is the work of the Venetian painter Domenico Tintoretto.
The canvas of the Saints Antonio da Padova and Francis in adoration of the Image of the Virgin has the same iconological connotations as the painting by Tintoretto. In this case, the painter, an unknown 17th century artist from the local area or from Reggio Emilia, has set the representation within a realistic depiction of a church interior with minute details of the altar ornaments, to give a trompe l’oeil effect.