Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Martino

The parish church of San Martino stands beside the town hall in La Morra. Designed by Michelangelo Garove in the Baroque tradition, it preserves paintings by Giovanni Carlo Aliberti and a nineteenth-century vault cycle by Luigi Morgari.

Why it matters

San Martino concentrates several important moments in the artistic history of La Morra. Garove's architectural design reflects the influence of Guarino Guarini, while Aliberti and Morgari represent Baroque and later nineteenth-century decorative traditions in Piedmont.

What to notice

The façade's projecting cornices, coupled columns, pilasters and broken pediments create a strongly modelled surface. Inside, a single nave is flanked by interconnected chapels. Aliberti's high altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child with Saints Martin and Crispin, and the presbytery dome carries a fresco of the Triumph of Saint Martin. Morgari's 1880 vault cycle illustrates episodes from the saint's life.

Context and history

The municipality attributes the church's design to Michelangelo Garove, who worked in the architectural tradition of Guarini. Aliberti of Canelli painted the principal altarpiece and presbytery decoration. In 1880 Luigi Morgari added a cycle of scenes from the life of Saint Martin to the nave vault, layering nineteenth-century renewal over the earlier Baroque design and painting.