From the very beginning of settlement in Forte, the inhabitants felt the need for a regular place of worship where they could go to pray and attend services. A small church was built on what is now Via Duca D’Aosta – but construction of today’s church, with its bell tower, was not begun until 1890. In 1911, Sant’Ermete was elevated to the status of independent parish church by Cardinal Pietro Maffi, so obtaining its independence from the Pievania of Querceta, and was officially dedicated to Saint Hermes Martyr, as Sant’Ermete, patron of Forte dei Marmi.