The sanctuaryThe definition of "sanctuary" instead of "church" is traced back to 1978, when it had already lost its function as a parish church, replaced by the new church of San Martino, built in Piazza Soncino starting in 1957 and blessed in 1961. (Cf. Scurati (1987), pp. 189-191) The change of definition was probably intended, with the same dedication to Martin of Tours, to make a formal distinction between the two churches, valuing the fact that the relics of St. Saturninus and Blessed Balsamo Abbot were still preserved in the old church of St. Martin. of San Martino Vescovo (Italian: Santuario di San Martino Vescovo) in Balsamo (of which he is the patron saint and protector)Scurati (1987), pp. 189. is a religious building in the city of Cinisello Balsamo, located at the confluence of Via San Saturnino (south) and Via San Martino (north), facing the Avenue of Remembrances. Historically, it has also been the reference church of the local Balsamese community for centuries, around which the city's built-up area developed until the early 20th century.Historically, both villages of Balsamo and Cinisello developed from the religious building, which played a central role in community life. The urban layout of the town therefore expanded over the centuries around these two centralities, only being disrupted following the union of the two municipalities (1928) and the subsequent building growth that merged Cinisello and Balsamo into Milan and its hinterland in a single urban continuity. See Guerci (2001), pp. 34-35.

History The first historical news about a religious building dedicated to Martin of Tours dates back to the end of the 13th century, when an Ecclesia Sancti Martini belonging to the parish of Desio is reported within the list of churches of the Ambrosian archdiocese appended to Goffredo da Bussero's Liber Notitiæ Sanctorum Mediolani. The primitive building must have been certainly not modest in size,Prina (1995), pp. 18-20; Guerci (2001), p. 41. so much so that it had at least two altars inside, one of which was dedicated to Our Lady and located in a side chapel along the southern side of the church.

Subsequent historical records of the Ecclesia Sancti Martini, until the 19th century, are based exclusively on pastoral visits conducted from the mid-16th century onward. Their importance is crucial not only for the work of census and survey of the historical buildings present in the archdiocese, but because in many cases these visits were the driving force for the stylistic or architectural renovation of places of worship, as was also the case, moreover, for San Martino.Prina (1995), pp. 11; Guerci (2001), pp. 34-35. However, the sources do not attest to any further details either on the style or on the actual dimensions of the building prior to the twentieth-century enlargement. From the pastoral visitation of Father Leonetto ClivoneLeonetto Clivone (Vicenza, 1525 - Milan, 1572), a Jesuit, in Milan from 1565, was charged in 1566 by Charles Borromeo with the pastoral visitation of the parishes of Missaglia, Desio and Cantù as Visitator Deputatus per Illustrissimum et Reverendissimum dominum Mediolani Archiepiscopum in Executione dictae Commissionis. Cf. Biblioteca Ambrosiana, P. 7, F. 108 inf., fol 293-294, 333, 350-351, 414. in 1567, it appears that the church was still substantially unchanged, characterized by a rectangular plan, a single nave, and a bell tower.Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Visite Pastorali, Desio, vol. 25, f. 77. The situation was unchanged at the visitation of Charles Borromeo to Balsamo on 8 July 1579, who in his delineatio still reported the baptistery and sacristy to the right of the choir.Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Visite Pastorali, Desio, vol. 4, f. 20. The oldest cartographic reproduction of the church known at present dates from this visit.Guerci (2001), p. 34. It is an overall map of the parish of Desio, surveying both villages of Cinisello and Balsamo developed around the two respective churches.In any case, this is an entirely approximate and unrealistic representation of the settlements, in which the various hamlets with their names and streets are schematically shown. See Diocesan Historical Archives of Milan, Topographical Maps and Drawings Collection, formerly Section X, vol. 7.

In the subsequent pastoral visitation conducted in 1596, Monsignor Baldassarre CipollaBaldassarre Cipolla, a Jesuit, was commissioned by Federico Borromeo to make pastoral visits to a number of parishes, including Desio and Oggiono. considered the building too small to accommodate all the faithful of Balsamo, suggesting an enlargement that, moreover, could coincide with the rebuilding of the church consistent with the new provisions of the Counter-Reformation.Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Visite Pastorali, Desio, vol. 18, ff. 158-1636. Therefore, the drafting of a project bearing the signature of a certain Moneta dates back to the following year, 1597, which included the transformation of the apse from semicircular to square, the replacement of the baptismal font with a polygonal baptistery (placed on the northern side of the building, near the facade) and the arrangement of the accesses to the bell tower and sacristy (communicating through two doors with the choir). On the other hand, the orientation of the church was maintained, with the apse placed to the west and the facade to the east, this one equipped with three entrances.Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Fondo Spedizioni Diverse, cart. 4, f. 2.

The work was completed in the early seventeenth century,Guerci reports 1608 as the latest date by which the work was to be finished. See Guerci (2001), p. 35. This date can be traced back to the visit of Monsignor Giovan Pietro Giussani (Milan, 1548 or 1552 - Monza, 1623) on 16 August 1608, from which, however, no further specifics or indications about the church of San Martino emerge. Reported in Prina (1995), p. 14; cf. Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Visite Pastorali, Desio, vol. 23, Visita del Monsignor Giussani del 16.8.1608. so much so that Federico Borromeo in his pastoral visit of 21 July 1604,Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Visite Pastorali, Desio, vol. 24, Visita del Cardinale Federico Borromeo del 21.7.1604. attested to the presence of eight side chapels (whose dedication is not specified), the relocation of the baptismal font, the reconfiguration of the apse and the connection between the chancel and the bell tower, lamenting, however, the absence of the sacristy (the work on which was blocked at the foundations) and raising concerns about the overall dimensions of the building, which were still considered excessively small.Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Sezione X, Visite Pastorali, Desio, vol. 24, ff. 235 e seguenti. The report of Monsignor Antonio Verri,Antonio Verri (1707-1784), in charge of the pastoral visit to the parish of Desio. following his pastoral visit in 1745,Guerci (2001), p. 42.Prina (1995), p. 15. finally turns out to be the last source documenting the original layout of the single-room church. An enrichment of the church furnishings and fittings was also recorded on that occasion. Subsequent to this visit, in 1758, a second map of the parish church of Desio was drawn up, which went on to confirm the situation already illustrated two centuries earlier by the previous one, with the villages of Cinisello and Balsamo huddled around the two churches.Archivio Storico Diocesano di Milano, Raccolta Carte Topografiche e Disegni, già Sezione X, vol. 29.

In 1856 the present bell tower, more than sixty metres high, was completed and inaugurated, commissioned by Don Giovanni Prato, then parish priest of Balsamo.Scurati (1987), pp. 41, 172. Until 1877 in the immediate vicinity of the church stretched linearly southward the historic cemetery of Balsamo, identified by a stationary crossSimilar crosses, on the other hand, can still be found in front of the church of Sant'Ambrogio in Cinisello and the church of San Pietro Martire alla Crocetta. If the former, dating back to the 17th century, identified with certainty the ancient cemetery of Cinisello that extended all around the church, the latter, although probably dedicated to the victims of the plague, presents a still unknown origin. See also dating from the 16th century, now dispersed. Following donations of land by Marquise Cristiana Morosina, widow of Marquis Casati Stampa of Soncino, this could be relocated and enlarged in a more decentralized position with respect to the built-up area, located southeast of the previous one.Scurati (1987), p. 56.

The current layout of the sanctuary and the Latin cross apsidal layout with three naves (a major central nave and two minor side aisles) can be attributed to the major expansion works of the early 20th century,Prina (1995), p. 19; Guerci (2001), p. 42. carried out under the guidance of Don Antonio Colombo.That is, over a period of time between 1899 and 1919. See Scurati (1987), pp. 63-64. The church thus reached its current dimensions of 24 m wide by 30 m long, flanked from 1923 by the Pio XI oratory, designed by architect Oreste Scanavini.Scurati (1987), p. 169.

As a result of the urban and demographic growth of Balsamo, which since 1928 had been united with Cinisello in the new municipality of Cinisello Balsamo,R.D. 13 settembre 1928, n° 2229. the church of San Martino came to find itself in a relatively marginal position in relation to the new urban settlements, which had developed in the direction of Cinisello.The arrival in Balsamo of the Milan-Bergamo highway in 1926 (inaugurated in 1927) marked a clean break in the territory, constituting a physical limit to its natural urban development. Subsequent building growth in the city would therefore develop north of the original Balsamo settlement, leaving the church of San Martino in a relatively peripheral position, almost abutting the highway embankment. See Scurati (1987), pp. 25-26. It was therefore decided to build a new parish church, decentralized approximately half a kilometre further northeast, capable of providing a greater capacity for the faithful. The work took place between 1957 and 1961, when the new church of San Martino Vescovo, in Soncino Square, was blessed and opened for worship.Scurati (1987), p. 191. Since then, the importance of the old church (since 1978 referred to as a sanctuary) has been waning, although it continued to be used to officiate some masses and celebrations until 2012.

In fact, during the earthquake of 27 January 2012, the crucifix detached from the statue of the Blessing Virgin (placed on top of the facade) and some tiles: the statue was secured and removed, while the entire building was declared unfit for use by the Fire Department.

In August 2022, restoration work on the bell tower was completed. On 25 September the bells resumed ringing.

Description

The sanctuary is oriented in an east-west direction, with the facade set to the east and the apse to the west. The building is externally white-plastered, with the roof covered with terracotta tiles: in fact, its only two highlights are the dome, which fits into the transept, and the facade, characterized by a semicircular stained-glass window and some statues.

Facade