Pietrasanta Cathedral, Religious landmark in Pietrasanta, Italy

Pietrasanta Cathedral, dedicated to San Martino, has a white marble facade with three portals topped by lunettes of the Passion and Resurrection, and a 14th-century rose window attributed to Riccomanno Riccomanni. Its Latin-cross interior has three naves, a transept, and a dome rebuilt on a circular plan in 1820. The brick bell tower, about 36 meters tall, was finished around 1520 and is attributed to Donato Benti.

First documented in 1223, the church was enlarged in 1330. In 1387 Pope Urban VI made it a collegiate church with a chapter of canons and a baptismal font. Grand Duchess Christina of Lorraine commissioned a Florentine-led renovation in 1627, and the octagonal dome of 1453 was rebuilt on a circular plan in 1820.

The church is dedicated to Saint Martin and, with the Madonna del Sole, co-patron of Pietrasanta. The 1424 panel of the Madonna del Sole in the right transept is shown only during particular celebrations. The bell tower's four bells, cast in 1887 by the Fonderia Lorenzo Lera, are named and dedicated: the largest to the Madonna del Sole, then San Martino, San Costanzo and the Ave Maria.

The church stands on Pietrasanta's central piazza, facing the Marzocco column and the statue of Grand Duke Leopold, so it is reached on foot from the surrounding streets. The baptistery, formerly a 17th-century oratory dedicated to St Hyacinth, is a separate space holding two fonts dated 1385 and 1612. The venerated Madonna del Sole panel of 1424 is shown only during particular celebrations, so it may not be visible on an ordinary visit.

The bell tower, finished around 1520 and attributed to Donato Benti, was designed to be clad in marble but remains bare brick. Some sources credit Michelangelo with a hand in its helicoidal staircase. Its four bells were cast in 1887 by the Fonderia Lorenzo Lera of Lammari, each with its own name and dedication.