The Church of San Martino is a Catholic religious building located in Cinisello Balsamo, in Piazza Soncino, overlooking Villa Casati Stampa. It is the main church in the Balsamo area.
History
The church was built with the purpose of coping with the city's population growth, which had been brought about by the continuous city building development of the 1950s and the consequent flow of migrants: the old church was no longer suitable, in terms of capacity and functionality, to accommodate the new worshippers. After the initial intention to build a subsidiary chapel, parish priest Don Piero Carcano decided for the building of a new parish church. An initial idea for the location fell on Villa Casati, but it met with opposition from vestrymen and the fear of excessive debt. Therefore, the land in front of it in Piazza Soncino was acquired, at the suggestion of Monsignor Maini, a lawyer for the Archdiocese of Milan. The purpose of the new location was to move the parish to a central area of the city, to bring in new worshippers and remain close to the old ones.
A committee was formed to screen the project, which was entrusted to engineer Claudio Latocca and carried out with the collaboration of architects Olgiati and Sartorio. The work was supported through collections and offerings of gold from the faithful. In addition, the parish proceeded to sell some areas of the land it owned, which it had received as a donation from benefactress Catina Cornelio. On March 3, 1957, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, archbishop of Milan, laid the foundation stone, and work continued until 1961, when it was completed. The initial project also included the construction of a "Parish Works Center," connected to the church through a portico, and a bell tower, both of which were never built. On March 19, 1961, the church was blessed by Monsignor Mario Civelli, a missionary bishop in China of Balsamese origin, who celebrated the first Mass. On the occasion of the celebration of Corpus Christi, the date of the consecration of the church by Cardinal Montini was announced, which was held on June 3, 1961. Subsequently, Don Carcano arranged for the placement of the paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross.
In 1977, with the installation of the new parish priest Fr. Mario Valzasina, changes were made to the interior arrangement of the church: The side altars, to the right and left of the presbyteral area, and the balustrade dividing the presbytery from the hall were removed to bring it in line with the new provisions of the Second Vatican Council; the tabernacle was placed in the center and a white marble staircase was built to access the area where the Eucharist was placed; some processional banners were restored and placed on the walls of the liturgical hall. Valzasina then had a statue of the Risen Christ made by Don Marco Melzi of the Beato Angelico School in Milan. He also had the heating system modernized.
In 1997 the new parish priest Fr Felice Carnaghi provided for the re-roofing of the church, and the following year he undertook a new renovation of the electrical and lighting systems and of the interior. A false ceiling was made to soundproof the church acoustically, and in the center of the false ceiling, above the altar, was housed the painting with the face of Christ Pantocrator, made in 1999 by Sergio Giannini. With this intervention, the original concrete ogives supporting the roof were hidden. To complete the liturgical adaptation to the conciliar prescriptions, the baptismal font was placed to the right of the altar, eliminating the ambon. The presidential seat was placed to the right of the new altar, and the statues of the saints and the urn of Blessed Carino were placed in the left aisle. The roofing of the choir seats was redone and a new electric organ was purchased.
In 2005, in conjunction with the redevelopment of Soncino Square, which was repaved with porphyry slabs, new paving of the churchyard and the gate closing the pronaos were made. On May 27, 2007, artist Mike Ciafaloni donated to the parish a fresco, called Love, Art and Reason, which was placed on the wall flanking the facade. On December 23, 2010, the parish placed two large vases containing centennial olive trees on either side of the churchyard.