The small church of St Peter, in the historic heart of Otranto, is a vivid testament to the magnificent Byzantine era, which lasted for centuries until the Norman arrival in the 11th century. Built on one of the hills of the original Hydruntine village, it is today among the oldest sacred sites of the Archdiocese.

One tradition places its construction in the 1st century AD, narrating the landing in Otranto of Saint Peter, en route from Antioch to Rome, where he celebrated the Eucharist for the local slaves, converting them. Other theories, however, place its construction between the 8th and 12th centuries. Given its modest dimensions and the absence of an iconostasis, it is hypothesized that it was initially a private chapel belonging to a Byzantine aristocrat.