The church of San Martino in Gangalandi is situated on a hill near the Via Livornese.
Documents confirm its existence since 1108, when the Adimari family donated a plot of land to the newly established rectory.
The church has Romanesque origins, but later restyling works are evident. The front portico and the decorations of its walls are in fact 14th century and a fresco of Saint Christopher, now located inside the church, dates from the 15th century. The patron saint of wayfarers is portrayed in gigantic dimensions so it could be seen from afar.
In the 16th century the chapel of the baptistery was frescoed by Bicci di Lorenzo’s workshop and the semi-circular apse was constructed, according to a project by Leon Battista Alberti, administrator of the church from 1432 to his death.
The church of Gangalandi houses the Museum of Sacred Art, located on two floors of the wing to the left of the apse. It displays many paintings, including a 15th-century triptych attributable to the Biccis’ workshop and the Madonna dell’Umiltà (1405), an early work of Lorenzo Monaco, which represents one of the most remarkable high points of late-Gothic Florentine painting.
The gold works are preserved on the upper floor and comprise 17th- and 18th-century silver and bronze goblets, reliquaries and monstrances in gold and carved wood and 14th- and 15th -century crosses brought from San Romolo a Settimo, Santa Maria a Castagnolo and San Martino and Sant’Ilario a Settimo.
The Museo Vicariale di San Martino a Gangalandi can be visited on request
Tel: +39 055 8720008
E-Mail: s.martino-gangalandi@libero.it
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