- Luca Giordano. San Pietro riceve le chiavi
According to tradition, the Church rises where St. Pietro erected the first altar between 43 and 44 AC, the same period of the Saints Candida and Aspreno's Conversation; the latter became first Bishop of Neapolis.
Located out of the surrounding wall of the city, the Church was integrated with a Monastery for the canons of St Agostino. In 1269, the Church and the Monastery were completely rebuilt under Charles of Anjou.
In 1456 the Complex was destroyed by the earthquake.
In 1483, on this area, a new Monastic Complex was rebuilt and widened by Ferdinand of Aragon. It presented two large cloisters in pure Renaissance style, then destroyed because of the construction of Corso Umberto I.
The columns of one of the two cloisters were included in the sacello ipogeo of St Apreno, located in the new "Palazzo della Borsa".
In the XVI century, the Lateran canons promoted a first restructuring; in the second half of the XVII century, the architect Pietro di Marino dealt with the following one.
In the atrium the altar where St Pietro celebrated the Eucharist can be admired. A fresco by Girolamo da Salerno representing St Pietro between St Candida and St Aspreno and a canvas by Francesco Curia, depicting Pope Gregory XIII with the souls of Purgatory are very prominent.
The Church, with a Latin cross plan, has a single aisle and side chapels where works by B. Azzolino, G.D. D'Auria, W. Cobergher, P. Landulfo, G.V. Forlì, Giovanni Merliano da Nola, T. d'Errico, P. Negroni, G. Diano, A. Vaccaro, G. Mozzetta, G.D. Vinaccia, L. Giordano, A. Sarnelli, Pacecco De Rosa can be appreciated.
The main entry is accessible from Corso Umberto I.