St Peter's Italian Church Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter's Italian Church

Location	136 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5DL
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Consecrated	16 April 1863
Architecture
Architect(s)	Sir John Miller-Bryson
Administration
Diocese	Westminster

St Peter's Italian Church is a special Roman Catholic church in London. It's built in a style called "basilica," which is a very old and grand church design. You can find it near Clerkenwell Road in an area often called "Little Italy". This church is super important to the Italian community living in London.

History of St Peter's Italian Church
Architecture and Design
Images for kids
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History of St Peter's Italian Church

This church was built because a saint named Vincent Pallotti wanted it. He was a priest who started a religious group called the Pallottines. The church is still looked after by this group today. Saint Pallotti got help from a famous Italian politician and activist, Giuseppe Mazzini, who was living in London at the time.

The church was made for the many Italian people who moved to London in the mid-1800s. Its design was inspired by a church in Rome called the Basilica San Crisogono. An Irish architect named Sir John Miller-Bryson designed it.

The church was officially opened on April 16, 1863. It was called "The Church of St Peter of all Nations." When it opened, it was the only church in the UK built in the basilica style. Its large organ was built in 1886 by a Belgian company.

During World War II, many Italian immigrants were held in special camps. During this time, Irish priests from the Pallottine group looked after the church. In 1953, the church was given back to Italian control. It has been updated many times since then, especially in 1996.

St Peter's Italian Church has always been a main meeting place for the "Little Italy" community in Clerkenwell. It's a key part of the yearly processione (a special parade) that happens in mid-July.

Architecture and Design

The front of the church has a cool design with a covered walkway (called a loggia) and an entrance porch (called a portico). These have two big arches. Above them, there are three special spaces called alcoves. In the middle alcove, you'll see a statue of Jesus. On the sides, there are statues of St Bede and St George.

Between these alcoves, there are two large pictures made from tiny pieces of colored glass, called mosaics. One mosaic shows the Bible story of Jesus performing the miracle of the fishes. The other shows Jesus giving keys to St Peter, which means giving him authority.

A memorial for those who died on the Arandora Star

Inside the covered walkway, there are two memorials on the walls. One was put up in 1927 to remember soldiers, mostly Italian Britons, who fought in World War I. The other, put up in 1960, remembers 446 Italians who sadly died when their ship, the SS Arandora Star, sank in 1940.

Above the front of the church, there's a tall bell tower, 33 meters (about 108 feet) high. It was built in 1891. Inside this tower is a huge bell known as "The Steel Monster."

Even though the church wasn't built exactly as grand as first planned, it turned out to be very impressive. When it was finished, the church was 19 meters (about 62 feet) high and could hold two thousand people! It was the only church in the country built in the Roman Basilica style. Today, it is recognized as a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historic building.

The church's giant bell was made in 1862 by Naylor Vickers in Sheffield. It was one of several bells shown at a big exhibition that year. This bell is still one of the largest in England. It weighs about 87 hundredweight (which is over 4,400 kg or 9,700 pounds!) and is 90 inches (about 2.3 meters) wide. At that time, the only other very large bells in London were Big Ben at Westminster and Great Tom in St Paul's Cathedral.