Sant'Agata Church, Church building in Martinengo, Italy.
Sant'Agata Church is the parish church of Martinengo, in the province and diocese of Bergamo. Its white Zandobbio marble facade, in neo-Palladian style, was designed by Giacomo Bianconi and built under the direction of Angelo Cattò, completed in 1866. Three Corinthian columns topped by statues by Luigi Gerli divide the front, and the central copper door has eight panels by Attilio Nani (1948).
A church dedicated to Saint Agatha is first documented on 3 March 1224, when a notarial act names the priest Lanfranco. On 17 April 1451 the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni, linked to the Martinengo counts, had the building rebuilt; the project by Tonino da Lumezzane took ten years. The bell tower was rebuilt in 1554 after the old one collapsed in 1519. In 1826 Giacomo Bianconi began a radical remodelling, completed in 1866 with the facade directed by Angelo Cattò.
The name Agata likely stems from the Goths who occupied Martinengo after the Roman empire and venerated the Catania martyr. In 1650 Bishop Gregorio Barbarigo recorded here the confraternities of the Rosary, Corpus Domini, Suffragio and Divino Amore, the Misericordia consortium and the school of Christian Doctrine. The church hosted the diocesan Eucharistic Congress in 1922 and was a Jubilee church in 2000.
The church is located on via G. Tadini and opens its doors at set times for visitors to explore the interior. It is wise to check opening hours beforehand, as these may shift depending on religious services and local events.
The 1948 copper door panels were made by Attilio Nani and show eight saints: John the Evangelist, Matthew, Roch, Fermo, Agatha, George, Mark and Luke. They are the church's titular saints and also those venerated by the townspeople, so the doorway lists the local pantheon.
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