Basilica di San Pietro

Saint Peter's Basilica is the old cathedral of Acqui Terme and one of the oldest in Italy. It was built within the boundary of an early Christian cemetery in the 4th century and rebuilt in Romanesque style in the first decades of the 11th century; it was a Benedictine abbey, then abandoned and subsequently restored to worship in the 18th century and dedicated to Maria Addolorata. The exterior of the church is mostly restored to return it to the Romanesque style: the facade and the missing parts were rebuilt during restoration work carried out between the 30s and the 50s by the architect Vittorio Mesturino. Of the early medieval construction remain the central apse, the minor polygonal apses and the upper external sides of the nave; the octagonal bell tower was added later. The interior, divided into three naves by octagonal pillars, is extremely simple and austere. It is covered by a whitewash that to this day does not leave visible traces of the frescoes covering its walls.