San Pietro Martire (Naples)

Church of San Pietro Martire
Chiesa di San Pietro Martire
The façade of San Pietro Martire.
Coordinates: 40°50′41″N 14°15′27″E / 40.844678°N 14.257475°E / 40.844678; 14.257475
Location	Naples Province of Naples, Campania
Country	Italy
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Architecture
Status	Active
Architectural type	Church
Style	Baroque architecture
Groundbreaking	1294
Administration
Diocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples

San Pietro Martire (Italian: "St. Peter, the Martyr") is a Roman Catholic church in Naples, Italy. It is located directly across from the principal building of the University of Naples on the main street, Corso Umberto corner with Via Porta di Massa, near the port area. In the piazza in front of the church is a statue of Ruggero Bonghi.

The church belongs to the first wave of construction under the Angevin dynasty in Naples, which includes better-known structures such as the Maschio Angioino. Construction on San Pietro Martire, dedicated to Saint Peter of Verona, was started in 1294 under Charles II of Anjou to provide a facility for the Dominican Order; the church and adjacent monastery premises were finished by 1343. That year the low-lying area suffered extensively from floods. Between 1400 and 1500 the premises were expanded considerably to allow for a larger contingent of monks than the original dozen. In the 17th century, the church underwent major recontstruction based on a design of Giuseppe Astarita.

As with most Angevin buildings in Naples, San Pietro Martire underwent considerable rebuilding when the Spanish took over the Kingdom of Naples in the early 16th century. The monastic cloister underwent reconstruction then, and again in 1755 in the form that one sees today. The monastery was closed under the French rule of Murat in the early 19th century, reopened after the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in 1816 and closed again by the new nation-state of modern Italy in 1864, leaving, however, the church open. The area around the premises underwent drastic remodelling in 1900 as part of a massive urban renewal (Risanamiento) of Naples, and both church and monastery were damaged by bombing in World War II due to their proximity to the port of Naples, a target of bombing raids. Restoration was completed in 1953 and the monastic grounds were converted to a tobacco processing facility. The entire premises, both church and monastery, were then taken over by the University of Naples. The monastery now houses lecture halls. The church is one of the university chapels.