Church of St. Peter (Portovenere)

The Church of St. Peter

The Church of St. Peter is a Roman Catholic church in Lazzaro Spallanzani, Portovenere, Italy, in the Gulf of Poets in the province of La Spezia.

History and Description

It was officially consecrated in 1198. The part in white and black bands dating from the thirteenth century (probably made between 1256 and 1277), and was restored between 1931 and 1935. This part was derived from an older body, which consists of the early church, but left the bell tower is based on the chapel left of the presbytery. The original church is a work of fifth-century realized in Syriac type, with rectangular plan and semicircular apse. It lost the title of parish in the late fourteenth century, in favor of the Church of San Lorenzo, and officiated by the secular clergy until 1798.^[1]

The Poem of Eugenio Montale

A view of the Church from Palmaria Island

The poet Eugenio Montale dedicated a poem to the Church.
In the original language (Italian):

Là fuoresce il tritone

dai flutti che lambiscono
le soglie d’un cristiano
tempio, ed ogni ora prossima
è antica. Ogni dubbiezza
si conduce per mano
come una fanciulletta amica.
Là non è chi si guardi
o stia di sé in ascolto.
Quivi sei alle origini
e decidere è stolto:

ripartirai più tardi per assumere un volto.

— Portovenere, Eugenio Montale

Translated in English:

There- comes Triton

from the waves that lap
the threshold of a Christian
temple, and every near hour
is ancient. Every doubt
takes you by hand
As if by a young girl friend.

There- no one's eyes
nor ears are bent on self.
Here- you are at the origins
and deciding is foolish:

re-begin later to assume a nature.

— Portovenere, Eugenio Montale

Gallery

• 

  Statue of St. Peter inside the Church

• 

  The Church of St. Peter and the square Spallanzani

• 

  Inside the Church

• 

  The Church kept from a boat

References

1. ↑ Portovenere (ed.). "Church of St. Peter". 

Coordinates: 44°02′54″N 9°49′57″E / 44.04833°N 9.83250°E / 44.04833; 9.83250