The Church
Inserted into the evocative Parco Termale di Uliveto, the small church of San Martino al Bagno is sited in an area wedged between the limestone quarry banks of Monte Pisano and the river Arno.
A small gem of Romanesque architecture, the edifice was built according to a perfect construction technique, confirming the presence of highly skilled workers travelling throughout the territory.
Showing no sculptural decorations, the single-naved, apsed building is of a small size and presents an unusual bell gable on its façade.
Once, the patronage of this church was managed by the Lanfreducci family, from Pisa, later passed to the Lanfranchi household.
Description »
The church of S.Martino al Bagno is sited inside the Parco Termale di Uliveto.
The main elevation, opposite the apse, is deprived of any portal or windows. Surmounted by a bell gable, it shows a cruciform opening in the middle that lets the light filter through. The main entrance portal, instead, opens on the side wall facing south.
The architectural features of the church (undocumented up to the 13th century) are those of private patronage churches, marked by a small size, a single hall, a bell gable and a highly specialized construction technique. Local noble households used to spend huge financial resources to have churches of this type built, as a distinctive sign of their social and economic status.
Notwithstanding its small size, the construction technique of the church is highly skilled, using dimension stones of Monte Pisano rubble.
The church has been kept almost unaltered up to the present days. A major restoration was carried out and documented in the 17th century, mentioning the Lanfreducci family, patron of the building. Restoration works are remembered in an epigraph and in the family coat-of-arms walled on the external elevation.
History »
Tradition has it that the church was built around the year 1000. The earliest document reporting its existence, though, dates back to 1282, when it was mentioned among the churches depending from the nearby pieve of San Casciano a Settimo. Its architectural features are those of private patronage churches, built in the Middle Ages by will of the most powerful local households as a distinctive sign of their social and economic status.
Within a rural context, this church type was used either as a warehouse for produce or as a defensive post of the territory.
Restorations »
At the beginning of the 17th century, the knight and prior of the Order of Malta Francesco Lanfreducci, patron of the church, commissioned a few restoration works aiming at rearranging and embellishing the building. On that occasion, a side door had probably been opened and the altar was provided with an altarpiece featuring San Martino. To recall the event, a family coat-of-arms and a marble inscription were added.
After the second post-war period, the church was repaired from war damages and taken back to its original Romanesque appearance.
Bibliography »
M. L. Ceccarelli Lemut, S. Renzoni, S. Sodi, Chiese di Pisa 2. Guida alla conoscenza del patrimonio artistico, Pisa, ETS, 2001.
A. Del Chiaro, S. Renzoni, F. Trombi, Vicopisano. Il patrimonio culturale, Pisa, Pacini, 2000.
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