Spoleto - San Pietro extra moenia

The site was once a (probably Roman) cemetery. A church, dedicated to St. Peter existed here already within the 5th century. This was erected by the local Bishop Achilleo, to house the chains that supposedly once had bound St. Peter. The chains are meanwhile back in Rome and can be seen in San Pietro in Vincoli.

"Extra moenia" means, that the church was outside the city walls (= extra muros).

The present church was built between the 12th and 13th centuries. It was severely damaged by the Ghibellines in 1329, but was rebuilt in the following decades. The interior was transformed at the end of the seventeenth century - and so by now is Baroque.

The facade, decorated with all kinds of reliefs, still is in a good condition.

Here are two psychostasia - Weighings of souls!

One with a good end - and one with a bad..

On top (left) Saint Peter watches the scale as well as Archangel Michael. Like always, the devil (depicted as a monkey, note the feet) tries to pull down his side of the scale, but there is a scroll, that reads "DOLEO QUIA ANTE ERAT MEUS", what translates to "I grieve because it was mine before". A clearly remorseful confession of the sins. So (further right) Saint Peter unties the rope around the poor soul´s wrists - and the Gates of Heaven will open for him..

Below is a completely different scene. Archangel Michael is leaving the "Weighings of Soul" already, turning his back to the sinner. The devil sitting on the sinner holds a scroll, but this is empty. The second devil (note the hoofs) is already pulling the sinner´s hair. Soon he will be thrown in the large vessel to the right, the mouth of hell, where the legs of another sinful soul still stick out.