Saint Martino in Ducentola

San Martino in Ducentola, Marlia

Mentioned for the first time in a document of 893, the church of San Martino in Ducentola - also known as San Martino di Cafaggio - is actually referable, as regards the part of its architectural structures, at least to the 8^th century. Until a few decades ago, extensive plastering left only the apse, with squared sandstone blocks of medium size installed with abundant mortar beds and for these characteristics dating back to the 11^th century. The only clue for a prior dating was given by the archivolt of the central single-light window of the same apse, monolithic and double-cropped, judged for this a rempiego of a previous building completely lost. However, the liberation of the structure from the plaster revealed a very different reality, because it was realized that the walls of part of the church, with the exception of just the apse - evidently reconstructed in the following era - had such characteristics as to allow a dating to the oldest parts within the 8^th century, moreover also more compatible with the same building plan, in many respects similar to the coeval San Giusto alla Caipira: a single nave with slightly surrounding perimeter walls towards the bottom, the same step to indicate the presbytery area at the exact half of the internal space. These walls, long protected by plaster, have also been extraordinarily well preserved and the weaving with river pebbles and fragments of brick arranged in a herringbone pattern is now perfectly legible. Previous to the construction of the apse in the 11^th century is also the visible intervention of raising the façade and the southern flank, on the occasion of which the north side was also probably rebuilt. From the modern era is the placement of a bell tower in the apse area. Inside is a 1786 canvas depicting the alms of Saint Martin between Saints Paul and John.