The church of San Pietro is the oldest in Gallarate. It was built between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries by the maestri comacini, the master builders from the Como area, in Romanesque style with Gothic elements. After the destruction of Castelseprio it was for a long time a point of reference not only for Gallarate, whose parish church it was, but for the whole county of Seprio; in the fifteenth century it was even turned into a small fort.
What to see
Over the centuries the church underwent many changes, from the bell tower to the side apses, from Baroque windows to the moving of the door, and it was also used as a meeting place, a carpenters' workshop and a butcher's shop. In 1844 it was declared a national monument, and between 1897 and 1911 a restoration demolished the bell tower and the houses built against it, rebuilt the old wooden roof and the original apse and decorated the interior walls; on 28 October 1911 it was consecrated again.
Outside, a band of interlaced small arches runs around the building, with capitals whose shapes are inspired by plants and animals, and some bas-reliefs are set into the walls and corners. The interior has a single nave with a gabled roof.
Visiting
The church is in the centre of Gallarate. Opening hours should be checked on site.
Our editors' tip
The restoration of San Pietro was the first undertaking of the Società gallaratese per gli studi patri, founded in 1896: the finds recovered then are the first core of the collections now shown in its museum, in the former convent of San Francesco.
