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Località: Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi - Sinalunga - Siena

Collegiate Church of St. Martin

The Collegiate Church of San Martino is the main place of worship in the town of Sinalunga. Built in 1588 and completed mainly in 1595 on the remains of the town’s ancient fortress, the church is a symbol of the community and its history. Its gabled facade, covered with a light yellow plaster and decorated with red brick pilasters, elegantly frames the main portal, which is preceded by a staircase and topped by a striking circular rose window. Engraved in this rose window is the image of St. Martin, the saint to whom the church is dedicated.

Next to the church stands the bell tower, which with its height acts as a landmark for the entire community. The interior of the church has a Latin cross plan, a single nave and a transept, both covered by barrel-vaulted ceilings. The nave is flanked by eight chapels each containing an altar, and alternating with them are statues of the apostles, which create a path of faith and art within the sacred building.

The chancel, well delineated by a marble balustrade, holds the majestic high altar, made of stucco and enriched by a tabernacle in polychrome marble. Behind the altar are the wooden choir stalls and the pipe organ, a work of sacred craftsmanship dated 1843, which still embellishes religious services with its music.

Among the very significant artistic treasures, the church houses priceless works, most notably “The Madonna and Child with Saints,” by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi known as the Sodoma, located in the left transept. This painting dating from after 1540 is a testament to the Renaissance mastery and devotion of the period. Also, in the first side chapel on the right, it is possible to admire Francesco Nasini’s painting “St. Catherine of Siena Presents St. Anthony of Padua with the Child to the Virgin Mary,” dating from 1650, which in addition to depicting a sacred scene includes, in the background, a historical view of Piazza Garibaldi and thus reveals to visitors an image of Sinalunga’s urban past in the seventeenth century.

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