The church of San Pietro Martire is a 14th-century church in Monza, in piazza San Pietro Martire, dedicated to the Dominican friar Peter, killed in 1252 by the Cathars as he travelled from Como to Milan.
What to see
The first records of the church date to 1369, but the building is very likely older, since the Dominican order is documented in Monza from the end of the 13th century; the church was built next to the convent, which later became the seat of the Inquisition tribunal and was suppressed in 1776. The interior is divided into three naves separated by cylindrical pillars alternating in stone and terracotta; the original apse was rebuilt in 1645 and altered again in 1817, the year in which the bell tower was also reworked, while further changes followed in the 1920s.
The wooden choir is 17th-century. Under the altar is kept the urn with the holy body of the martyr Saint Prosper, moved to Monza from the Roman catacombs of Sant'Agnese. In the most recent restoration works, in the 1960s, some fragments of 14th-century paintings were recovered; from the left aisle a door leads into the quadrangular 15th-century cloister of the convent. In the square in front of the façade stands the monument to the Monza painter Mosè Bianchi.
Visiting
The church stands in piazza San Pietro Martire; opening hours and visits should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Look at the cylindrical pillars separating the naves, alternating in stone and terracotta: a simple two-tone rhythm that marks out the interior space.
