Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Martino

San Martino is Gargnano's principal parish church, a neoclassical building designed by the Brescian architect Rodolfo Vantini. Its temple-like facade and elliptical nave contrast with the older phases of worship on the same site.

Why it matters

The church brings together nineteenth-century architecture and paintings inherited from earlier Gargnano churches. Its artistic character reflects both a major rebuilding and the preservation of works from buildings that have disappeared.

What to notice

The facade draws on the classical language of Rome's Pantheon. Four side altars accompany the elliptical nave, including those dedicated to the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Madonna of the Rosary and Saint John the Baptist. Paintings include Andrea Celesti's Saint Albert and Giambettino Cignaroli's Death of Saint Andrew Avellino.

Context and history

An earlier pieve stood here by at least the eleventh century and was rebuilt from the sixteenth century onwards. The baroque bell tower dates from 1722, while the presbytery was rebuilt between 1785 and 1788. Vantini's later intervention gave the main building its neoclassical character after work had remained suspended for years.