The story
In the second sacristy of San Martino, boxwood statues of the Virtues stand over inlaid cupboards, and the cornice above runs through 32 small scenes of martyrdom. Oval panels set the life of Moses beside the life of Christ, more than 800 figures in all. The carving and inlay are by the Fantoni and the Caniana, families of woodworkers from the Bergamo valleys, and the three sacristies, built from 1676, show their craft at full stretch.
These rooms belong to the Basilica of San Martino in Alzano Lombardo, a small town in the Seriana valley just north-east of Bergamo, and the Museo d'Arte Sacra San Martino runs the whole complex. Its own rooms in Palazzo Pelliccioli hold the church treasury, illuminated manuscripts and vestments, with paintings such as the Martyrdom of Saint Peter of Verona by Palma il Vecchio, a painter born in the Bergamo hills who made his career in Venice, and a Saint Christopher attributed to Tintoretto, with a share often given to his son Domenico. Back in the nave stands the basilica's pulpit by Andrea Fantoni, carried on four carved telamons.
