Church of San Pedro
The church that rose from its ashes

Only the portal of this church, parish temple of Alba de Tormes, survived the terrible fire that destroyed the rest of the building in 1512. It would not be rebuilt until 1577, when the Dukes of Alba provided the funds for it, as is commemorated by the two coats of arms that can be seen on the façade. We can be sure of these dates because, on the choir staircase that can be seen when entering the church, there is a grooved column on whose capital a child holds a card that reads “... finished in 1577”.

Inside, the building is a hall church with three aisles and a rectangular presbytery; its most remarkable architectural elements are the staircase going up to the choir and the Gothic ribbed vaults under it. In the presbytery there is an altarpiece that came from the Santiago church. The altarpiece shows Saint Peter in the centre, Saint Andrew on his right and Saint Sebastian on his left, and Saint James on top. There are also remarkable carved images: the Cristo de la Salud, San Jerónimo and the Virgen de Derrengada.

Due to the semi derelict state of the former bell tower, it had to be rebuilt in 1899. Its construction was surrounded by a heated polemic regarding the ownership of the building plans, between Enrique Repullés, architect of the local Basilica who claimed they were his work and Anastasio Corchón, who had directed the works. Nowadays the tendency is to consider that they both had something to do with the tower’s plans and therefore it is their joint work. The bell tower is 34.6 m high and it is divided in to three volumes.