The Parish Church in Strada in the Casentino (Tuscany), like that of Romena, Stia and Montemignaio, was built in the XII century, probably in the second half of it. This church was the restoration of a pre-existing parish church difficult to date: San Martino in Terdinula.
The holy building was financed by the Conti Guidi, owners of the overlooking Castello di San Niccolò. In the centuries it has suffered several architectural upsettings; between 1960 and 1970 a great work of restoration has brought the parish church to what its original aspect could be.
The building is detached by the inhabited centre of Strada in the Casentino. When you enter the church, you immediately sink into the austere atmosphere of the Romanesque architecture. The aisles are three; each one is composed by the classical seven spans held up by six columns. The parish church has only one central apse.
The inside is rather dark, but the little light is sufficient to let you notice the most important decorative architectural elements of the church: the Romanesque capitals set on the columns. They are entire in their original form and they show vegetable, zoomorphic, human decorations. Similar in the style to those of the Parish Church of Romena, they look less raw, more moulded, more harmonious.
In the Parish Church of San Martino in Vado a great fourteenth-century fresco coming from the church of the overlooking Castel San Niccolò is preserved.

For a web site with more detailed texts (only italian version):
www.ilbelcasentino.it