The Church, the Chiesa di San Pietro in the oldest church in Taormina

Taormina’s most antique church, chiesa SS. Pietro e Paolo, reopens. Finally the eldest Christian church, usually called the church of San Pietro, will be used again. It is situated on the national road which links Capotaormina to the main centre, the Via Luigi Pirandello. In ancient times this area was used as an Arab necropolis, which was destroyed in 1825-1830 when the new national road has been constructed. A sign on this road, still visible nowadays, are the Byzantine tombs just above the church. This is the reason for assuming that the whole area had been used as the town’s old cemetery, leaving the church in the centre of it. The founds made by the English historian Edward Augustus Freeman some years ago were a further reconfirmation for this theory testifying the presence of tombs until the end of the town walls. The church was built on the ruins of a Greek Temple, presumably dedicated to the God of wine, Dionysios or Bacchus, as for the many vineyards of the area.
In the period from 1732 to 1763 several excavations and researches took place and brought to light finds like the head of Zeus, the Table of the former Grammar School, a stem with epigraphs listing all the magistrates who every year directed the Grammar School, and others.
The façade of the church represents a beautiful stone entrance door made of stones from Taormina, with an semicircle arch, above a decorated window with frame and lintel in stone. On the left of the entrance door there is a construction stretching out, which is composed of two parts of which the exterior one is in a semicircle, meanwhile the interior one has the form of a little church as this was the old crypt of the first church. Nowadays its function is to be the sacristy.
The interior of the church is divided in three aisles, consisting in vaults held by colons. The altar is located in the centre of the church, on a basement with few steps. Behind the altar there are frescos from the 5th century, maybe covered by other frescos from the 8th century. As time passed by, humidity has nearly uncovered the original ones, representing the 12 apostles. During the past centuries the church has been used as a cemetery. Indeed, its pavement covers many tombs, the largest one at the centre is dated 1714. Still today the church is used as a cemetery: with a special conceding of the Holy See in 1977 and in 1981 two famous personalities have been buried there.
In the church you find the statue of San Pietro but not the one of San Paolo, even if named after the two saints. The statue is made of papier-mâché, decorated with pure gold and dates back to the 16th century, meanwhile the sedan-chair is made of wood in an hexagonal form with 5 columns which support the canopy.
The 29th of June is the saints day for San Pietro and Paolo, and the statue is brought in a procession to the church San pancrazio, where it remains until the 9th of July, the day of Taomina’s patron saint on which both saints are brought in a procession through Taormina’s streets by the two brotherhoods, the one of the fishermen of whose San Pietro is the protector, and the one of San Pancrazio, protector of Taormina.
Nevertheless, the church needs reconstruction which has started to be planned, and surely its reopening for use is an important chapter, partly forgotten, in Taormina’s history for both locals and tourists.
 

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