The main church built in 1590, with the bell tower that watches the entire town. Come inside and see the incredible paintings of Simone de Magistris.
It was inaugurated in 1590 with the seal of Sextus V that made it a Holy Collegiate. The bell tower is 45 metres high, it was planned by the architect Pompeo Floriani. The face rises up in two floors, the ground floor with a huge front door, and the first floor, which is basically similar to the ground one, but smaller. When you enter the church you can see three naves with a choir, and inside each one there are three chapels. Inside the choir is the monumental complex of the High Altar, framed by two majestic columns. The great masterpiece of the Collegiate is the “Transito di San Martino” oil on canvas 350 x 200cm. The subject of the painting is the entrance of Saint Martin’s soul into Heaven. This painting is about the famous dream of Saint Augustine when he fell asleep during the celebration of Martino’s funeral. In the background, on the left, the artist describes the death of Saint Martin, surrounded by friars. Talking about the interiors of the church: starting the visit from the right part, inside the first chapel is a wooden crucifix from the XVI century; in the second chapel is the relic of Saint Dexter and a painting about Saint Emilion. In the third chapel, a work of Giovanni Andrea de Magistris, Simone’s father, signed and dated 1537, about the Holy Mother of the Carmel with the Saints Joseph and Jerome. In the left nave, the first chapel is used by the choir, the second one is closed by a small gate of wrought iron and contains a golden wood tabernacle dated 1595, attributed to Desiderio Bonfini, the tabernacle stands between two wooden statues of Saint Sebastian and the Evangelist Luke. The last chapel is dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. The sacristy (bigger than a normal one) is entirely decorated, even the ceiling; among the paintings we can admire the “Madonna e Santi Cosma e Damiano”, work of Durante Nobili. This painting was realized when the artist was only 17 years old and he was a student at Lorenzo Lotto’s workshop, we understand this because the canvas presents a strong influence of the Master.
