ABBEY OF SAN PIETRO, Abbey Of San Pietro

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Abbey of San Pietro.

The Abbey of San Pietro, built in the mid-thirteenth century, brings together the compact power of Romanesque style with the sophistication and beauty of Gothic architecture.

If you’ve already visited other churches in Assisi, you’ll find this one familiar. The facade is divided into regular horizontal and vertical surfaces, embellished with elegant rose windows, and there are no sculptures breaking up the simplicity of the overall effect. You may notice that the triangular tympanum at the top is missing; it was dislodged during an earthquake! At the sides of the portal, you can see lions keeping away evil, represented by the animals being devoured.

The interior is bare, unadorned and solemn, with rectangular pillars, but it did not always look like this. If you walk up to the altar, you can see the cupola: the structure at the top of it is called a roof lantern, and is used to provide natural light to the cupola and the altar below it. The walls of the cupola were once covered with sparkling glazed terracotta tiles, now unfortunately gone. ...