Saint Martino in Greppo

San Martino in Greppo, Diecimo

The church of San Martino in Greppo has been mentioned in documents since 979, when it was dependent on the nearby parish church of Diecimo. There was attached a hospital - mentioned in the documents since 1205 - for the many people who walked the road to and from Emilia that lapped the settlement, which was also once equipped with private houses: near the chapel there was also the station of tax collection on the border between the state of Lucca and the territory controlled by the consuls of Diecimo. The church that we can still admire today along the right bank of the Serchio near Diecimo was built in the 12^th century with a single nave plan and a semicircular apse and a mixed masonry technique, with squared white limestone ashlars in the apse and rough drafts less finished material on the sides and on the facade. The orientation of the building - in the churches it was tried, when possible, to place the altar and then the apse towards the east, place of sunrise and symbol of the mystery of the Incarnation - it has in fact made its main side , the one facing the Serchio valley, was the apse one: for this reason it is possible to note in this area a more refined masonry technique but also the presence of albeit sober architectural decorations, such as the hanging arches with sandstone shelves carved in geometric figures. In the apse, marked by pilasters, there are three single-lancet windows with monolithic archivolt. The remains of the ancient buildings that completed the hospital complex are placed against the facade. A conservative restoration has recently interested the church, ending in 2009. The interior of the church is completely bare and without furniture.