Basilica of San Piero a Grado
Basilica of San Piero a Grado features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Pisa. Give it roughly ~45 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Pisa Pisa guide
About Basilica of San Piero a Grado
A 10th–11th century Romanesque basilica 5km west of Pisa, built where tradition holds that Saint Peter first stepped ashore in Italy on his journey from Antioch to Rome, its interior frescoes tracing all popes from Peter to the 14th century.
The Basilica of San Piero a Grado ('Saint Peter at the Landing-Stage') stands on the flat coastal plain between Pisa and the Tyrrhenian sea, approximately 5 kilometres west of the city, near where the Arno once reached the coast before centuries of silting moved the shoreline further west. According to an ancient tradition recorded as early as the fourth century, this is the place where Saint Peter landed when he first arrived in Italy on his way from Antioch to Rome, and where he celebrated one of the first Christian liturgies on Italian soil.
The current Romanesque basilica was built in the 10th–11th centuries on the foundations of several earlier churches, the earliest of which dates to late antiquity. It has the unusual distinction of possessing apses at both ends, a feature reflecting very early Christian basilica design, and no façade in the conventional sense. The interior walls were decorated in the early fourteenth century with a remarkable fresco cycle by Deodato Orlandi depicting the apostolic succession of popes from Saint Peter to John XVIII, making this one of the most complete medieval pictorial records of the early papacy.
Did you know? According to a tradition dating back to the fourth century, the Apostle Peter stopped here to celebrate one of the first Christian masses on Italian soil before continuing his journey to Rome, making this site one of the earliest places of Christian worship in western Europe.
How long is a visit to Basilica of San Piero a Grado?
Set aside roughly ~45 min for Basilica of San Piero a Grado. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Basilica of San Piero a Grado worth your time?
Basilica of San Piero a Grado is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Pisa, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Pisa
Hear the story of Basilica of San Piero a Grado
Preview the Pisa tour free in the Gingerguide app.