San Pedro church is believed to be located over a previous edifice housing the remains of the Córdoban martyrs Januarius, Martial and Faustus, dating to the 4th century AD. After the conquest of the city by king Ferdinand III of Castile (1236), a church dedicated to St. Paul was built here in his program of construction to give a Christian appeal to the previously Muslim city. Construction began in the late 13th century and was completed in the early 14th century.
The edifice's current appearance date mostly to later restorations. Part of the bell tower and two of the medieval gates have survived, a new one having been added by architect Hernán Ruiz II in 1542. In 2006, the church was elevated to the status of minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.