San Martino Primo Papa is a later 20th century parish church at Via Veio 37, south-east of San Giovanni in Laterano and near the San Giovanni metro station. This is in the Appio Latino quarter.
The dedication is to Pope Martin I.
History[]
The parish was set up in 1965, rather unusually late for a location in the inner suburbs. The older parishes contributing territory were Ognissanti, Natività di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo a Via Gallia and Santi Fabiano e Venanzio.
The church was designed by Giuseppe Russo Rocca, and completed in 1965. The interior was re-modelled in 2015.
Exterior[]
The church is on the ground floor of an apartment block, and has no distinguishing external architectural features. Look for a wide wood-panelled door facing onto a little courtyard, round a corner from the street.
Interior[]
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The interior space has an external wall down the left hand side, but the other walls of the main worshipping area have no windows so the ambience is rather gloomy.
The layout consists of a large square vestibule, and a single nave of three bays. This is separated from the vestibule by a pair of square piers. The side walls of the nave are faced in rough-cut travertine limestone blocks, with the bays separated by deep engaged piers. These support horizontal transverse slab-beams which protrude from the ceiling. Each bay of the ceiling has three longitudinal zones, a middle higher flat one flanked by two sloping down to the sides. Each of these sloping panels has a trapezoidal void containing lighting fixtures.
The piers, beams and ceiling are in white. The floor is in square pink terracotta tiles.
Sanctuary[]
The sanctuary is at the end of the nave, on a platform with two steps. A pair of wide support piers are in the far corners, and a narrower pair are behind the altar. These flank the tabernacle, which is set in a white cross on a golden-yellow background.
A tondo portrait of Pope St Martin is on the left hand corner pier.
Liturgy[]
Mass is celebrated (parish website, July 2018):
Weekdays 9:00 (not July or August), 19:00 (the 7:30 Mass has been discontinued);
Sundays and Solemnities 8:00, 9:00 (not summer), 10:00, 11:00 (not summer), 12:00, 19:00.
The Rosary is recited daily at 18:30.
On First Fridays there is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 9:00 to 12:00, and also a guided meditation before the exposed Sacrament at 19:30.