It looks out onto a square in the southwestern outskirts of Sassari, once open countryside. You will get to San Pietro di Silki via an avenue that runs alongside the walls of the former Franciscan monastery, attached to the church. The complex was built in the village of Silki (which no longer exists) between 1065 and 1082, as is indicated in the Libellus judicum turritanorum. It is part of the abbeys built at the behest of the Pope in Rome, contrasting orthodoxy. No trace of the establishment now remains: evidence of the life and activities that took place in the monastery between the 11th and 13th centuries come from the condaghe (a type of administrative document) of San Pietro di Silki. The building was rebuilt in Romanesque style in the 13th century: still remaining of the thirteenth century building are the bell tower and some parts of the wall of the main hall. In 1467, the monastic complex was conceded to the Franciscans by the archbishop and the town Authorities. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, various renovations gave the church its current appearance.