Church of very ancient origin, subject (the only one in the valley of the But) on the Pieve di Santa Maria Gorto. It passed under the jurisdiction of the Abbey of Moggio, following the fortunes of Pieve di Gorto. On the front you can still see the signs of addiction to the Abbey of Moggio.
In the will of a certain Mr Pietro Pintassio (1358) we can read the request to be buried in the new cemetery near the church of St. Martin; this is the first known document written, about the presence of a church between the two villages, but certainly many years before there was a Christian community with a sacred building.
In 1794 the Bishop of Udine with a decree gave the title to the Pieve of Cercivento church and therefore also the priest who was serving acquired the title of parish priest.
In 1912 with the birth of the Vicariate of Paluzza the church was detached from the Gorto jurysdiction and aggregated to the new Forania of Paluzza. Worth visiting the many works of art and craft, valuable paintings and paintings preserved in the church.
The pulpit: wooden work of great value by the Cadorian engraver Eugenio Manzoni with the help of Giovanni Francesco Manzani and gilded by Agnese Girolamo. In archive documents dated March 20th, 1726 we read "A Girolamo Agnese nell'indorare il pulpito ..." It shows the outside of the balcony the four evangelists centering on Christ; canopy finely crafted ends with the statue of San Paolo. It 'was restored in July of 1990.
The baptistry: is marble with on a sealed wooden ciborium already mentioned in the documents of the pastoral visit of 1602. The old statue of St. John which had been placed on the highlight for the disposal of the Patriarch was stolen in the 90s; the present is a recent work of a craftsman from Cleulis.
The crucifix: it's a work of German wood shop and comes from Bavaria likely gift of some immigrant.
The holy water font: nice realization of the early eighteenth century red marble. Decorated with floral motifs and has the distinction, excluding the basement, to be carved from a single block of stone.
The organ: It's dated 1753. In 1751 the cramârs going from Cercivento in Bavaria for work, decided to send a sum to the church of St. Martin in the construction of an organ 'that could render with his sound even more the solemn religious ceremonies'. The fabbriciere provides for everything and documents say that August 16, 1751 were spent' suburbs 25 alli carters to weigh the organ in Udine bought for the church. '
The instrument is given over to the changes and for the final settlement, to Angelo Morasso master of the hamlet of Cercivento di Sotto who had his workshop in the Pitor House. Over the years the organ changed hands and only after the earthquake, around 1980, went back in the church but in poor condition; with contributions from the Region, the Mountain Communities, the Superintendency, the Municipality and the people on August 15 of 1985 returns to play, completely restored, in the St. Martin Parish. The restoration work was performed by the Company Gustavo e Francesco Zanin from Camino al Tagliamento.
The bell tower: beautiful work begun in 1656 that is presented in all its harmony in the contrast between the tuff and plaster; the restoration work was completed in 2001 has put forward the bell tower and so now more than ever the Cirubits (as he called the inhabitants of Cercivento), with some pride, recalling to mind an old coat of arms which highlights the four wonders of the world: 'the four wonders of the world are the cathedral of Milan, the campanon of Mantua, the organ of Trento and the belltower of Cercivento.'
(© text Celestino Vezzi from 'Il Giûc da Agàne' published by the Cultural Circul 'La Dalbide' Cercivento)