Parish church of “Santi Pietro e Paolo”

Built in 1445, it was significantly enlarged in 1960.

One of the most interesting examples of a fortified church in the entire alpine area.

The church was surrounded by a defensive wall to protect against the invasion by the Turks in 1474.

The fortified church offered refuge to the inhabitants of the town against the Turkish raids, similar to other constructions made in the same period in Carinthia and elsewhere.

A small section of the fortified wall has recently been restored: the defences successfully resisted the attack on the 25th June 1478, but ultimately fell on 26th July 1492, when the fortified church was burned down.

The church was surrounded by the walls and had three defensive towers, two of which survived until today.

The first one, on the left side of the church, is hexagonal and is now used for exhibitions, cultural events and weddings.

The second one, behind the church, is circular and contains a small ossuary chapel commemorating war victims.

The church itself is dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul.

The large central nave is in Gothic style, while the two side chapels, which were added about two hundred years later, are in Baroque style.

There are several frescos, which were made at different times and by several artists.

They all date from the 1500s and the craftsmen referable to  workshops in Villach.

The wall on the left side of the apse is divided into two parts: on the left you can see the Last Judgement, and on the right one of the most interesting and complex frescos in the church.

This was created by Thomas von Villach, one of the most important artists in Carinthia in the 16th century.

If we look at the fresco from top to bottom, we can see: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the adoration of the Saint Three Kings, the presentation in the temple, the resurrection, and the Eucharist.

Remaining in the apse, the right wall is nearly entirely covered with a fresco showing the Emperor Charles V  on his horse, a celebration of the Emperor’s visit to Tarvisio in 1532.

Over the door leading to the sacristy there is a painting showing Jesus blessing the children.

The apse also contains the imposing polychrome Altar from 1728 and the beautiful wooden choir.

This is a very fine example of the woodworker’s art from the early 1600s, and is full of symbolic meanings.

We should also note the altar to the left of the Triumphal Arch.

This precious wooden altar represents the Crowning of the Virgin and dates from 1500s.

It was almost certainly a central part of an antique winged altar (Fluegelaltar).

In the chapel on the left is a fresco of Jesus conferring the primacy to Saint Peter; while in the chapel on the right you can see the Trinity and the Virgin with child.

The frescoes in the nave represent the Agony in the Garden and Jesus falling beneath the cross.

At the top of the second fresco you can see a fortified Citadel, which is what Tarvisio would have looked like in the 1500s.