Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church
Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church is a Roman Catholic Church located in Galata. One of the icons of the Virgin Hodegetria, one of the protective symbols of Constantinople and claimed to have been made by St. Luke the Evangelist, is considered the most important object in the church. In 1731, he was rescued from a fire in the church, which had survived fire before. The current building was rebuilt by the Fossati brothers between 1843 and 1841. In the early sixteenth century, the Dominican Order in Galata moved to the Galata Tower after their original church was converted into a mosque. The original Dominican church was built on its new site by the Genoese colony in 1604. After being destroyed by two separate fires, the building was rebuilt by the Swiss-Italian brothers Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati between 1841 and 1843. Saint Pierre Church, one of the three surviving Medieval Latin churches in Galata, now serves the native Maltese community along with the Italians. Sen Pierre Church was built in the form of a basilica with altars on four sides. The dome over the choir is sky blue and studded with gold stars. The rear wall of the church was built adjacent to a part of the old Genoese walls of Galata. The churchyard reflects Ottoman sovereignty, which is why Latin churches could not be built directly on a road or on a hill in front. The exterior of the church takes the form of a narrow street surrounded by high walls covered in inscriptions
