PORTO VENERE, SANTUARIO di. – At the westernmost extremity of the Gulf of La Spezia, near the village of P. V., perched above the sea, stands the ancient temple of St Peter the Apostle.
Its construction seems to date from the sixth or seventh century, following the transformation of a pagan temple dedicated to Venus Erycina. The church consists of several buildings, assembled in different periods and through successive reconstructions: the style of the new structure (completed in 1277) is Romano-Pisan, while the small original church reflects a simpler architectural motif and belongs to the Roman period. A suggestive legend holds that one day St Peter, coming from Asia, stopped at the place where the church stands. Some historians, on the other hand, maintain that the church was erected by local fishermen who wished to honor Simon Peter of Bethsaida, himself also a fisherman. The church has a single nave: the floor displays designs of circles, bands, and stars formed in mosaic with marble tiles. Attached to the old building was a small rectangular abbey, already existing in the sixth century and dependent on the monks of the island of Tino. The interior, like the lower part of the exterior, has walls with broad white and black bands; the presbytery is divided into three sections, with square chapels having ogival vaults supported by pillars. The bell tower, with bifora windows, culminates in a pyramid-shaped spire. Damaged by fires and military operations over the centuries, until it was transformed into a fortress, it was recently restored (1930) through the intervention of the State and the municipality. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the temple, which was once the property of the Holy See, belongs to the archpriest-parish of S. Lorenzo in P. V. La Spezia, P. V. Chiavari.