| Basilica of San Piero a Grado | |
|---|---|
 Facade | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Pisa |
| Location | |
| Location | Pisa, Italy |
 | |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Church |
| Style | Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | 10th century |
| Completed | 12th Century |
San Piero a Grado (Italian:Basilica di San Pietro Apostolo) is a church inPisa,Tuscany,Italy, in the eponymousfrazione 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the city center. The church is located where once was a now disappearedport of the Pisan Republic, where, according to the legend,St. Peter landed in Italy fromAntiochia in 44 AD.[1]
Archaeological excavations have shown the presence of a Palaeo-Christian edifice in the area, built over civil Roman structures, which was later replaced by a larger church in the early Middle Ages (8th-9th centuries). The current construction, begun in the 10th century and renovated in the late 11th-early 12th centuries, has a basilica plan with a nave and two aisles. Unusual is the presence ofapses the facade, probably built after the crumbling of the facade due to a flood of theArno River. The entrance is on the northern side.
The exterior, made of stone of different provenance, is marked by pilaster strips and arches over which are preciousbacini (ceramic basins, the originals are in theNational Museum of St Matthew in Pisa) of Islamic, Majorca and Sicilian manufacture decorated with geometrical and figurative motifs (10th-11th centuries).
The 12th-century bell tower was destroyed in 1944. Only the base has been rebuilt.
The large interior with truss ceiling is divided into a nave and two aisles by antique columns with classical capitals. In the western part is aGothicciborium (early 15th century) which marks the place where Peter would pray for the first time.
On the walls of the nave is a large fresco cycle, recently restored, by theLuccheseDeodato Orlandi (early 14th century), which was commissioned by theCaetani family for the 1300jubilee. In the lower part arePortraits of Popes, from St. Peter toJohn XVIII (1303); the intermediate portion has thirty panels withHistories of St. Peter's Life (as well of those of St. Paul, Constantine and St. Sylvester), similar to those in theOld St. Peter's Basilica and toCimabue's work atSan Francesco inAssisi. In the upper area are portrayed theWalls of the Heaven City, largely restored in the following centuries.[2]
On the high altar is a wooden crucifix from the 17th century.
43°40′47″N10°20′48″E / 43.67972°N 10.34667°E /43.67972; 10.34667
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