CORTONA | Must-see Places

The church of San Marco, one of the two patron saints of Cortona

The church of San Marco is located in the city centre of Cortona, along via Santa Margherita. San Marco, together with Santa Margherita, is the patron Saint of Cortona. The peculiarity of this church is that is composed by two superimposed churches. Another characteristic feature of this church is the big outdoor mosaic, representing the saint and his symbol: the lion. The history of the building dates back to the end of sixteenth century. During that time the Company of the Holy Trinity of Lay people designed this construction to be dedicated to the Holy Trinity.  In reality in the location where there is the church, there was an hospital for pilgrims. You can access to the upper church through a Baroque gate made during a later period. On the lower church of San Marco there is the already mentioned mosaic dedicated to San Marco and made in 1961 by the famous artist Gino Severini. The church of San Marco is not always open to public, and if you want to visit it you should ask the tourist office for some further information. Annexed to the church there is a small museum that preserve some sacred objects. The church keeps also a statue of Jesus, that together with other statues placed in other churches in Cortona, is carried during the Easter procession of the Good Friday.