Church of San Pietro di Castello

Originally built in the ninth century, the church of San Pietro di Castello was the seat of the Bishop of Venice, but was never the senior church in Venice. That honor belonged to the Basilica of San Marco, the Doge's private chapel. The original church, dedicated to St. Sergius and St. Baccus, was rebuilt by Bishop Magnus, and dedicated to St. Peter; it was called di Castello after the name of the island. The current building was started during the time of Patriarch Vincenzo Diedo and dates to 1594-96. During World War I, the church was bombed and its dome destroyed. Although it was rebuilt after the war, insufficient funds led to poor maintenance.

In the 1970s, the Los Angeles Chapter of the Venice Committee of the International Fund for Monuments, with the support of Dr. Franklin Murphy and Mrs. Terry Stanfill (current Board member of Save Venice Inc.), sponsored the conservation of the façade, tower, pavement, walls and interior of the church. The Lando Chapel was not included in that restoration. The new California Chapter of Save Venice, formed in 2000, decided to pick up where the old had left off and raised funds to restore the chapel in memory of Dr. Murphy.