[note 2] The first historical news about a religious building dedicated to Martin of Tours dates back to the end of the 13th century, when an Ecclesia Sancti Martini belonging to the parish of Desio is reported within the list of churches of the Ambrosian archdiocese appended to Goffredo da Bussero's Liber Notitiæ Sanctorum Mediolani.

From the pastoral visitation of Father Leonetto Clivone[note 3] in 1567, it appears that the church was still substantially unchanged, characterized by a rectangular plan, a single nave, and a bell tower.

[9] Therefore, the drafting of a project bearing the signature of a certain Moneta dates back to the following year, 1597, which included the transformation of the apse from semicircular to square, the replacement of the baptismal font with a polygonal baptistery (placed on the northern side of the building, near the facade) and the arrangement of the accesses to the bell tower and sacristy (communicating through two doors with the choir).

[17] Following donations of land by Marquise Cristiana Morosina, widow of Marquis Casati Stampa of Soncino, this could be relocated and enlarged in a more decentralized position with respect to the built-up area, located southeast of the previous one.

The building is externally white-plastered, with the roof covered with terracotta tiles: in fact, its only two highlights are the dome, which fits into the transept, and the facade, characterized by a semicircular stained-glass window and some statues.

The facade of the sanctuary clearly shows the internal division of the rooms: on the lower level, the three naves are marked by six lesenes that frame - on the sides - the two minor entrances to the church, characterized by an ashlar decorative layout, consisting of plaster on masonry.

However, due to the armistice announced on September 8, they were never melted down and returned to Balsamo while the war was still in progress, thanks to a stratagem of Don Piero Carcano who, having managed to get them back and clandestinely transport them to the village, kept them hidden in a haystack.

[26] The interior features a cycle of frescoes made starting in 1892 by Lombard painter Carlo Farina, commissioned by the then parish priest of Balsamo Don Giuseppe Molgora.

[27] They cover the ceiling of the nave, with putti in flight alternating with bishop's emblems, and the four pendentives of the dome, with the four evangelists (St. Matthew with an angel, St. Mark with a lion, St. John with an eagle, and St. Luke writing the Gospel), depicted in robes of dull colours, with brown, green, and red tones predominating.

In contrast, the dome depicts Martin of Tours, wearing a yellow vestment and mitre, with black and white pallium on his chest and crosier in his right hand, carried in glory by a host of angels.

Both statues come from the demolished church of San Michele in Monza,[note 14] and were placed in the sanctuary on 24 October 1789, replacing the previous altars dedicated to Our Lady of the Snow and Virgin of the Rosary.