This church in Pentedattilo was dedicated to the two Saints Peter and Paul (Santi PIETRO e PAOLO), also known as the “Prince of the Apostles”. Their common feast day in the saints' calendar is June 29th.
* Simon, nicknamed Peter (Rock), was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he - together with his brother Andrew - was called by Jesus Christ to be “fishers of men”. According to Catholic understanding, he is the supreme apostle, and the two millennia-long line of popes - currently Francis - are his successors. On statues and paintings, Peter is almost always depicted with two keys in his hand; this attribute refers to the biblical saying in Matthew: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Chapter 16, verse 19).
* Paul was initially an opponent of the Christian movement and was not called to the apostleship by Jesus Christ during his lifetime like the other apostles, but was only converted later with the famous “Damascus experience”. His attribute is the sword with which he was executed. According to Roman law at the time, such a sentence was a “privilege” (quick death and not associated with a long, painful agony like other types of execution) that the citizens of Rome were entitled to.