About
Facing the Gulf of Poets, San Pietro ("St. Peter") is a Roman Catholic church located in Porto Venere, in the province of La Spezia, northern Italy. The old pagan temple served as the foundation for the church.
In 1198, it was formally dedicated. The 13th-century section with the black and white bands was probably created between 1256 and 1277 and restored between 1931 and 1935. This portion was taken from an earlier structure that included the early church; however, the chapel to the left of the presbytery served as the model for the bell tower.
The original church was built in the fifth century and had a semicircular apse and a rectangular plan, all in the Syriac style. In the latter part of the fourteenth century, the Church of San Lorenzo succeeded it as the parish. Up until 1798, the secular clergy performed the liturgy.
