Free guided tours

On Sunday, November 15th, on the occasion of the San Martino Fair, the Campedel Association is organizing guided tours of the Belluno Cathedral Crypt where the Polyptych of San Martino is preserved.

By crossing the door that leads into the sacristy’s vestibule and descending all the stairs, you reach the crypt. The only altar of undeniable historical-artistic value, reassembled after the damage from the 19th-century earthquake, originally constituted the tomb of the Avoscano family (third-fourth decade of the 14th century); the central sculpture of the Virgin with the Child and those of the corners that adorn it are, instead, high-style additions dating back to the first quarter of the 15th century. The elegant marble casing contains the relics venerated in the cathedral since the Middle Ages.

The overlying altarpiece formed by the polyptych with the stories of San Martino (15th century) is enriched by the predella (events of the life of the Baptist) and the tympanum with the Eternal Father, executed by the Belluno artist Nicolò de Stefani (8th-9th decade of the 16th century). On the walls, some portraits of bishops can be seen (two by the 17th-century painter Francesco Frigimelica the Elder) and a polychrome wooden shield by the sculptor Andrea Brustolon (before 1730).

The guided tours, free of charge, will take place in the afternoon every hour: at 2.00 p.m., 3.00 p.m., and 4.00 p.m.

No reservation is required, but it is enough to present oneself at the chosen time in the crypt, whose entrance is located at the end of the left lateral nave by descending the stairs.