- Church of SS Peter and Paul, Istanbul
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Church of SS Peter and Paul 
Location Galata in Istanbul Country 
TurkeyDenomination Roman Catholic Website Church of SS Peter and Paul Architecture Architect(s) Fossati brothers Church of SS Peter and Paul (Turkish: Sen Piyer Kilisesi) is a Roman Catholic church in the Galata area of Istanbul, Turkey, at Galata Kulesi Sokak 44, Kuledibi, Beyoğlu.[1] The church's main treasure is a version of the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, which was one of the protective icons of Constantinople and was claimed to have been painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist.[1][2] In 1731, the icon survived the fire which burned down the earlier church.[2] The current building is a nineteenth century rebuilding by the Fossati brothers from 1841 to 1843.[1]
Contents
History
In the early sixteenth century the Dominican brothers of Galata moved below the Galata Tower, after their original church was requisitioned as a mosque.[2] The original Dominican church on the new site was built in 1604 by the Genoese colony.[1] After being destroyed twice by fire, the church was rebuilt by the Swiss-Italian Fossati brothers from 1841 to 1843.[1][3]
One of the three surviving Medieval Latin churches in Galata, it now serves the local Maltese community, with masses in Italian.[4]
Architecture
The church is built in the form of a basilica, with four side altars.[2] The cupola over the choir is sky blue, studded with gold stars.[2] The church's rear wall is built into a section of Galata's old Genoese ramparts.[2] The outside enclosure of the church takes the form of a narrow alleyway enclosed by high walls which are covered in inscriptions.[1] The church's courtyard design reflects the Ottoman ruling that Latin churches could not be built directly fronting onto a road or on top of a hill.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Church of SS. Peter and Paul by The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Eyewitness Travel Guides (1998). Istanbul. London: DK. pp. 105. ISBN 0-7513-6881-4.
- ^ a b Maxwell, Virginia (2005). Istanbul. Lonely Planet. pp. 118. ISBN 1740594835, 9781740594837.
- ^ Catholic Churches by Mymerhaba. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
External links
Categories:- Churches in Istanbul
- Roman Catholic cathedrals in Turkey
- Religious buildings completed in 1843
- 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings
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