After St Mark's Basilica became Venice's official cathedral (it had previously been the private church of the Doge), San Pietro fell into a state of disrepair.

The church is located on San Pietro di Castello (from which it derives its name), a small island off the eastern end of the main city of Venice.

[1] It was one of the eight churches founded by St. Magnus (Italian: San Magno), the Bishop of Oderzo, who came to the Venetian lagoon during this period.

This was grander than the previous building (as seen on a map drawn by Jacopo de' Barbari in 1500) and had an adjoining baptistery dedicated to St. John the Baptist (since destroyed).

In 1558 Andrea Palladio, in his first commission in the city of Venice, prepared an improved design for the facade and interior of San Pietro.

Later, between 1594 and 1596 the architect Francesco Smeraldi implemented a modified and less ambitious version of Palladio's original design, the changes possibly attributable to a lack of funds.

The Vendramin Chapel, located off the left aisle, was designed by the baroque architect Baldassarre Longhena, as was the high altar which he constructed during the middle of the 17th century.

The church contains only a few notable works of art including SS John the Evangelist, Peter and Paul by Paolo Veronese and the altarpiece in the Vendramin Chapel by Luca Giordano.