The current church is the result of a profound restructuring that transformed the single-nave layout into a Greek cross plan in Renaissance style. One of the arms was therefore the side of the primitive church and is constructed with a cladding of slabs sourced from the spoliation of Roman and early medieval buildings. Description: Blood of the Blessed Giovanni, body of the Blessed Giovanni da San Guglielmo, excluding the right hand which was stolen by a thief in 1709. The relics are preserved in the church of San Martino, inside a travertine case from 1966, the wooden sarcophagus donated in 1631 by Grand Duchess Cristina to contain the body of the Blessed Giovanni da S. Guglielmo. Beneath the floor of the same church is preserved the rustic glass flask lined with felt, containing the blood and viscera of the venerable saint, now in Rome for the canonization process. Additionally, in the sacristy, inside a wooden case, are the relics of the Venerable, belonging to the Brilli family: a brown woolen fabric headpiece, the iron hook with which Giovanni’s intestines were lifted from the bottom of the vessel, and the whip with which he beat himself for penance. In 1621, the Blessed was buried in the hermitage of S. Lucia, in 1629 the body was transferred to the monastery of Santa Croce, then in 1811 to the church of S. Martino. The body of the Blessed Giovanni is in the travertine case, missing the right hand stolen in 1709, while beneath the floor is preserved the rustic glass flask, lined with felt, containing the blood and viscera of the Blessed, which periodically boils and gives rise to the phenomenon of liquefaction. Entry into use: in the year 1621 Relic: Bones, Fabric, Specific Objects, Blood
Collection of ex-votos: Data not available

In the church of San Martino in Batignano, in 1621, the blood of Father Giovanni da San Guglielmo was transferred, while his remains were buried in the hermitage of Santa Lucia, a small hermitage founded in the countryside around Batignano. In 1629, the remains were first transported to the newly established monastery of Santa Croce (built in the countryside around Batignano), then, in 1811, to the church of San Martino in Batignano. Currently, only the body of Father Giovanni is preserved in the church, as the blood has been transferred to Rome.
Numerous paintings in churches throughout the area between Buriano, Castiglion della Pescaia, and Tirli attest to the miracles obtained through the intercession of Father Giovanni.
There are a series of buildings that testify to the fervent apostolic activity of Father Giovanni da San Guglielmo. Giovanni arrived in 1597 at the monastery of San Guglielmo di Malavalle, when the church was occasionally officiated by the Augustinians. At the beginning of the 17th century, the place was inhabited by friars who joined Giovanni. The regular monastic community was established only in 1636; to this phase belongs the restructuring of the convent. The convent is now in ruins, while the church is still preserved, albeit open and devoid of furnishings. The church of Madonna del Romitorio, located 4 kilometers from Buriano, was built in 1597 by Giovanni to replace an older structure on the site of the legendary apparition of the Virgin to San Guglielmo. The church has a rectangular plan, a single nave, and a large atrium with a central portal flanked by two single windows. Some rooms intended for residence are admitted. The place is a destination for pilgrimages that start from Buriano carrying the 18th-century reliquary arm of the Saint; during the liturgical function, the priest wears the chasuble woven with gold threads, donated to the church by Grand Duchess Maria Antonietta of Lorraine as thanks for remaining unharmed after a fall from a horse during pregnancy. In place of the original small church dedicated to the Holy Crucifix of Tirli, the Venerable Giovanni built in 1604 the church of Sant’Andrea Apostle and the attached convent of the Augustinians, rebuilt in the 1940s of this century. The church of Sant’Andrea in its current form is the result of a further restructuring that took place between 1668 and 1674 by Father Lorenzo Prosperi. Before the reconstruction of the Augustinian convent, Giovanni also built the small hermitage in the locality of Sant’Anna, where today stands the church of Sant’Anna in the woods, erected on the ruins of the ancient hermitage in 1971. In the past, the inhabitants of Tirli went on July 25 to the hermitage, bathed in the spring of San Guglielmo, and loaded stones taken from the ruins onto their heads or shoulders to carry them to the place called La Crocina where, freeing themselves of the weight, they pronounced the phrase: I load you and unload you. Of the original convent of Santa Lucia founded by Father Giovanni in the countryside of Batignano, only a few remains incorporated into the structure of the homonymous farm remain, while the monastery of Santa Croce is substantially well preserved. After the suppression (1811), it was used as a glass factory. Today it is private property and features inside an elegant brick cloister with a double order of arches. In the cloister, fragments of a vast decorative cycle that adorned the lunettes are also visible. This entry was compiled by Beatrice Sordini.
The parish priest was appointed by the king. Since February 11, 1929, an Opera di San Martino has also been established, which provides for ordinary and extraordinary repairs, in turn subject to the Opera della Cattedrale di Grosseto.

58100 Batignano, Province of Grosseto, Italy