Sant Pere de Riu
Municipality of Tordera. Vall de Riu. Access from a path originating along the road from Pineda to Horsavinyà.
The Sant Pere de Riu church belongs to the municipality of Tordera,
for it was part of the ancient realm of Hortsavinyà, but from
a popular and ecclesiastical point of view, it has always been linked
to the parish of Pineda de Mar. It's also know by the name of Sant Pere
de Pineda.
The oldest records of this church are from 1185. In 1246, by a bull
of Pope Innocenci IV, both the parishes of Sant Pere (St. Peter) de Riu
and Santa Maria (St. Mary) de Pineda became dependent of the Sant Salvador
(St. Saviour) monastery in Breda. For centuries, Sant Pere de Riu church
had its own priest, but eventually the rector of Pineda took charge.
In 1985 it was opened to the cult again, while the rectory was converted
into a youth hostel.
The church still retains the original Romanesque structure dating from the XI century, with nave, apse and a somehow late quadrilateral bell tower crowned by a pyramidal pinnacle inbetween stepped merlons. Its present aspect is mostly the result of the additions built during the XVII century, although the original decoration of the Romanesque apse, made of blind arches, can still be seen. This ornamentation is also visible in the south wall, where we find the ancient portal, which still has two Romanesque large windows.Behind the bell tower, there is a small construction know as the Mirador, (the Viewpoint or a Belvedere),which some authors dated in the pre-roman or visigothic era,an opinion not shared by Joaquim Graupera (Catalunya Romànica, Vol. XX).
In the footpath leading to the church, a late medieval necropolis was discovered with gravestones from burials carried out inside the church, displaying heraldic symbols, three of which serve as steps into the temple and the other two are preserved on the lawn before the entrance door.