The church of San Martino Vescovo is the parish church of Rivoli. A chapel is first mentioned in 1217; in the fourteenth century it was enlarged and turned into a Gothic church. By the end of the eighteenth century the fourteenth-century church was in very poor condition, and the prior Sassi decided to demolish it and build a new one: the present neoclassical building went up between 1786 and 1788 and was consecrated on 15 June 1788.
What to see
The stepped façade is divided by a cornice into two tiers, both marked by pilasters: below is the portal, topped by a dedicatory inscription, and above, under the pediment, an oval rose window. Beside the church rises the square-based bell tower, in Romanesque style. The interior has three naves, divided by piers with pilasters supporting round arches; above runs a moulded entablature on which the vault rests, and the apse opens at the end of the presbytery.
Among the works kept here are the organ built by the Lingiardi brothers, an early eighteenth-century group with the Crucifix, the Madonna and Saint John, an altarpiece of the Rest on the Flight into Egypt attributed to Mattia Franceschini and a canvas of the Annunciation. In the eighties of the twentieth century, following the rules introduced after the Council, a new altar facing the congregation was added.
Visiting
The church is in the centre of Rivoli. Opening and service times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Look for the canvas of the Immaculate Virgin with angels, painted in 1868 by Francesco Gonin, the Turin painter known for his illustrations of Manzoni's The Betrothed.
