Oratory of San Pietro

It was built in X century as a baptismal chapel, as stated in a document of 966. In XII century it became the church of the adjoining Benedictine monastery. In 1506 cardinal Pirro Gonzaga, a son of prince Gianfrancesco and Antonia Del Balzo, gave the monastery to St. Jerome confraternity, and the little temple became a pantheon of the Gonzaga from Gazzuolo.
From 1704 to 1773, the monastery became a summer holiday resort for Mantuan Jesuits; after their suppression it became a state property, then a private property, and finally a property of Belforte village in 1869. In 1893 the church became a granary, then a warehouse. After the ceiling partially caved in in 2000, today it is undergoing renovations.
The large Gothic façade is adjoining to a well preserved Romanesque bell tower; you can still see the oculus of an ancient rose window over the XVI century rusticated portal. The interior is bare and completely neglected; but you can still see a small Renaissance loggia, a marble frieze and Pico della Mirandola's and Antonia Del Balzo's gravestones. There is a XVI century fresco in the apse.
Teodoro Ghisi's canvas depicting the Holy Family, that once was here, today is in Santa Maria in Castello church, in Viadana.