Church of Saint Peter

The Church of Saint Peter overlooks Piazza San Pietro and its steps, and is located between the Oratories of The Holy Cross and The Rosary. It was the cathedral of the Medieval diocese of Ploaghe from 1090 to 1503 and it maintains its title of “illustrious” from this period. The church nowadays has three naves with four lateral chapels per side. Originally, it had two naves. Between 1687-1690, it was expanded with the addition of the third nave and in 1743 it was extended and the façade was renovated. The left nave and three chapels maintain the original Late-Gothic style of the 1500s, with cross vaults and pointed arches at their entrances. The fourth chapel has a barrel vault with round arches. The central nave, 19 metres high, is divided into five aisles and has a barrel vault with lunettes. The apse is covered with a shell shaped dome. The right nave has a cross vault; its chapels instead have barrel vaults and pointed arches at their entrances.

The elegant and harmonious façade is made with squared ashlars and is divided into two orders by a pronounced protruding frame. The lower part is divided into three parts by Doric half pilasters. The main entrance has a double architrave and an open pediment with a plate, dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle, placed next to two simple doors surmounted by Baroque framed rectangular windows. In the upper order, the central body is outlined by the extension of the half pilasters. It is surmounted by a window and a triangular pediment with the papal emblem carved in stone and acroterions on the sides (tn* an acroterion is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the acroter or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style). Two curly fittings with terminal acroterions connect the lower body to the upper body. The majestic bell tower reminds us of Late Catalan-Gothic architecture and has an octagonal shape. It is divided into three orders by string courses. On the last floor, there are four arched windows with twisted rope-like decorated ledges. The bell tower ends with a crowning of merlons and a pyramidal steeple with a sphere on top.

Scheda realizzata con l’ausilio della sig.ra Caterina Satta, esperta di storia del comune di Ploaghe