The church of San Martino Vescovo is the cathedral church of Casalecchio di Reno, in the archdiocese of Bologna. Its story begins in the seventh century, when the Martinian friars founded a monastery here; the Hungarians destroyed it in 974, and it was rebuilt in 1074. From documents of 1378 we know that the church depended on the parish church of Bologna. Rebuilt in 1665 and enlarged between 1874 and 1913, in the first half of the twentieth century it was demolished to make room for today's church: the design, by Edoardo Collamarini, was later modified by Luigi Saccenti, and the church was built between 1926 and 1937 and consecrated that same year by Archbishop Giovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca. Damaged during the Second World War, it was completely renovated immediately afterwards.
What to see
To the left of the church rises the spired bell tower, forty-five metres high, with clock faces on two of its four sides: it was built in 1938 to a design by Saccenti, at the expense of Aristide Volpe, and is one of the symbols of the town.
The interior has a nave and two aisles. It holds an altarpiece of the Blessed Virgin with Saints Lucy and Agatha, by Denijs Calvaert, the frescoes by Lambertini, the images of the four Evangelists and the organ built in 1989 by Francesco Guglielmo Paccagnella.
Visiting
Opening and Mass times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
If you happen to be here for the patron's feast, on 11 November, listen to the bells. There are six, cast in 1938 by Cesare Brighenti of Bologna, mounted on an iron frame with the wooden headstocks that allow ringing «alla bolognese»: the local ringers practise it on the main solemnities and every year for St Martin.
