Basilica di San Martino

The Basilica of San Martino in Martina Franca is an eighteenth-century Baroque church rebuilt after the 1743 earthquake and consecrated in 1775.

Why it matters

As the town's principal church and historic collegiate seat, San Martino reflects the religious and cultural ambitions of eighteenth-century Martina Franca. Its architecture brings together local limestone, Neapolitan marble and sculpture from the region's leading workshops.

What to notice

The facade features a high relief of Saint Martin sharing his cloak with a beggar, carved by Giuseppe Morgese. Inside, a Latin-cross plan leads to a polychrome marble high altar, with sculptures by Stefano da Putignano and Giuseppe Sanmartino and frescoes by Domenico Carella.

Context and history

A church stood on the site by the mid-fourteenth century. Work on the present basilica began in 1747, after the 1743 earthquake damaged its predecessor, under the direction of architect Mariani and local stonemason Giuseppe Morgese. It was consecrated in 1775. The church became a minor basilica in 1998.