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Church of St Martin in Proceno: The Gothic "Friars' Church" on the Via Francigena
In Proceno everyone calls it the "friars' church". The Church of San Martino dates back to around 1200, and in the Middle Ages was part of a convent that stood to its right. The first to occupy it were the Benedictines, then in 1258 it passed on to the Conventual Franciscan Friars, who remained there until Napoleon suppressed the religious orders and the monastery was torn down. Only a section of wall remains of the convent on the right façade, with the door that connected the two buildings, while the church remained unscathed.
Gothic Architecture
The building has a Gothic layout, with the façade facing east — an unusual choice. The portal is in travertine, surmounted by a recessed rose window of the same material. Otherwise, the façade is almost bare and unadorned. The bell gable is supported by a wall that starts from about ten metres below the level of the church and rises above the roof for a few metres. This solution was dictated by the slope of the terrain.
The Interior
The nave has a vaulted ceiling in the presbytery, with four tuff ribs. At the back there is a large pointed-arch window that illuminates the altar. On the walls are the remains of frescoes datable to the 16th and 17th centuries. The church was restored after the Second World War, and today is run under the parish church of the Santissimo Salvatore (Most Holy Saviour). In the churchyard there is a small modern stone altar.
