Orari Visita:
Ora Solare: 8.00 > 18.00
Ora Legale: 8.00 > 19.00

The last stretch of Via Borgo San Pietro flanks the Benedictine abbey bearing the same name and offers a view of the lantern and the Romanesque bell tower before ending at the church square of the Abbazia di San Pietro. A church located outside of the city and dedicated to St. Peter is on record since 1029. It once belonged to a Benedictine community which around the middle of the 12th century adopted the Cluniac reform, and then embraced that of the Cistercians. The present building dates from the 13th century and was consecrated by Innocent IV in 1253. The upper part of the facade was re­constructed in 1268, when the superior was one Abbot Rustico, as testified by a long inscription on the stringcourse cornice: PASTOR PETRE GREGIS CHRISTI FI­DELISSIME REGIS. HIC FIDEI PURE POPULUS STANS SIT TIBI CURE. HOC OPUS EST ACTUM POST PARTUM VIRGINIS FACTUM. MILLE DUCENTENI SUNT OCTO SEXQUE DENI. TEMPORE ABBATIS RUSTICI.
The splendid facade is characterized by regular features done in the Spoleto Ro­manesque style. It is divided into two registers by a cornice formed by small hang­ing arches, a motif repeated on the exterior of the apse, and into three vertical sec­tions by pilasters. The central portal is decorated by two lions. Its jambs are adorned by a band with racemes extending on the architrave and in the arch, and by thin columns with zoomorphous capitals joined by a stringcourse. Another archivolt has animal heads on the impost and at the top. In the upper register, above the portals, are three magnificent rose windows with wide splays; the central one has two orders of columns. The facade once terminated with a tympanum, torn down after heavy damage was caused by the 1832 earthquake.
The interior has a nave flanked on each side by the robust, rectangular pillars which separate it from the aisles. The nave has a ceiling with wooden beams sup­ported by ogival arches; the aisles have barrel vaults. The presbytery is elevated by five steps due to the presence of a crypt (not open to visitors) and is covered by a dome formed by 31 concentric rows of jutting ashlars, probably a motif of Proven­cal origin. The walls were uncovered during a thorough restoration in 1954, which led to the removal of the Baroque altars. On the left of the entrance is the access to the Cappella del Rosario, for centuries utilized as the seat of the Parish, but now closed for restoration. Above the altar, reconstructed in 1831, is a painting of the Madonna of the Rosary (1611). Against the counterfacade are two tombs which belonged to the Soldani family. On the left is that of 1010 Soldani, dated 1337. An­other four tombs of similar style are located at the sides of the presbytery. One of these hosts a ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary, done in 1981 by Francesco Vitali. Below the main altar is an early medieval sarcophagus containing the body of St. Vittorino the Martyr, third bishop of Assisi and coprotector of the city. On the left side of the apse is a chapel with a cross vault, the ruins of the ancient prothesis. Within are several fragmentary frescoes from the mid 13th century with Saints, and a band with hunting scenes reflecting the culture of the times of Frederick II. In the Cappella del Sacramento, on the head of the left transept, are The Annuncia­tion, a Madonna with Child, a St. Vittorino by Pace di Bartolo (mid 14th century). and a detached fresco with St. Benedict between Two Saints, repainted during the 17th century. A door on the right of the presbytery is the entrance to the sacristy, which replaces the ancient diaconicon.

Texts Kindly offered by: Editrice Minerva Assisi