The archpriest's church of Toirano first appears in the records on 3 September 1235, but the building now standing in Piazza San Martino is later: it was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century, taking in part of the walls of the old parish church, and was consecrated on 1 August 1609 by the bishop of Albenga, Luca Fieschi. Of the first medieval church, dedicated to the bishop of Tours, three columns survive, reused in the loggia in front of the adjoining oratory of the disciplinanti, along with the bell tower.
What to see
The Baroque interior has three naves with barrel vaults, separated by columns of pink Verezzi stone with Corinthian capitals. The fresco cycle with the life and miracles of the saint of Tours runs across the central vault and the presbytery: it was painted by Gerolamo Graffigna, a pupil of Nicolò Barabino, between 1892 and 1893, and the scene on the façade is his too. The high altar is the work of the Genoese marble-cutter Carlo Giuseppe Stella and bears the date 1719; it holds a processional crucifix attributed to Giovanni Battista Bissone, known as “il Veneziano”.
In the right-hand nave hangs an altarpiece of the Virgin of the Rosary by an unknown painter of the early 16th century, brought here from the church of the Madonna del Rosario, once a Dominican vicariate. The marble pulpit, Rococo in style, is dated 1755, while the inlaid marble staircase leading up to it is from 1764; the chapel of San Giuseppe follows the same taste. For the patronal feast the processional statue of Saint Martin the bishop, from the Genoese workshop of the Olivari, is carried through the streets.
Visiting
This is Toirano's parish church, seat of the parish in the vicariate of Loano within the diocese of Albenga-Imperia, and it faces the square of the same name in the old town, a few minutes from the medieval Giaire bridge. It is open for services; outside those hours it is best to ask at the presbytery. Before going in, look up at the bell tower: it dates from the 14th century, has a double order of three-light windows on all four sides, restored in 1963, and is crowned by Ghibelline battlements added long after it was built.
Our editors' tip
We would give a few minutes to the loggia of the oratory of the disciplinanti, before or after the visit: the three columns holding it up come from the medieval parish church and are the oldest part of the whole complex. Inside, look at the pulpit and its staircase together: nine years separate the two pieces, and the inlaid marble says a good deal about the patience of Ligurian marble-cutters.