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The parish of San Vittore (St. Victor) is mentioned for the first time in the papal bull dated 5th April 1145 with which pope Eugene III took the canons of Saint-Gilles di Verrès under his protection. The parish church of San Vittore is rectangular in shape and has a single nave. The current church dates back to the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century and was consecrated in 1521. Its construction was financed by the counts of Challant, whose coat of arms may be observed on a keystone above a buttress.
The facade was rebuilt in 1670 and has a portico to protect the entrance. The seventeenth century portal in cut and sculpted stone is noteworthy and on the inside, the baroque altars in painted and gilded carved wood, are also interesting. The walnut stalls of the choir may be dated back to the end of the 17th century and bear the coats of arms of many of the noble families from the parish. With the new direction of the church beginning from the seventeenth century, the bell tower came to find itself behind the apse. Having collapsed in 1755, it was rebuilt in 1762 but it appears to have kept its medieval typology in the lower section.
References:Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.
Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.
A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.
The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.
The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.
In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.
In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.
