The Val Passiria School of Painters was based in San Martino and decorated the parish church and house façades in the centre
Visitors still stop in fascination before the beautifully painted façades of the guild houses, which accommodate cafés and shops in the centre of San Martino. One of them shows Saint Martin, the patron saint of the village and the church, dividing his cloak. This is the Painters' House, where the Val Passiria School of Painters was based. This art school for baroque fresco and façade painting was active here from 1719 to 1845. It transformed churches, such as those in Ridanna in the Upper Valle Isarco and Neustift in the Austrian Stubaital valley, into true works of art.
The magnificent baroque altars and the pulpit in the Parish Church of St. Martin also originate from this art school. Slightly above San Martino stands the Schildhof Steinhaus, one of the eleven such Shield Farms still existing in the valley. The Nobles of Steinhaus, the Lords of Niederthor, and the Counts of Mohr resided in this estate. In 1665, it finally passed into the ownership of the highest Benedictine abbey in Europe, the Marienberg Monastery in the Upper Val Venosta.
Those who like to be active feel thoroughly at home in San Martino (St. Martin). The sports facilities here range from the outdoor pool with its sauna and the new beach volleyball court to the bouldering wall and the Val Passiria Cycle Path. This relatively flat route follows the course of the Passirio River all the way to Merano. Above the village, the famous Merano High Route winds past Cresta and Montaccio, which also belong to the municipality of San Martino.
This area is also home to the historically significant Pfandler Alp. Andreas Hofer, the leader of the 1809 Tyrolean Rebellion, hid here from the French and Bavarian troops before being captured. In winter, the "Mårtiner Sternstundn" enchant the village for a day with an idyllic Christmas Market.
