Chiesa di San Nicolao

Description

Dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Bari, the building was part of a Benedictine monastery, which was dissolved in the 15th century. The church, with its rectangular structure oriented to the east, is characterized by sober and rigorous architecture, with a raised choir and a semicircular apse. The crypt below, with three naves, is supported by eight columns adorned with sculpted capitals depicting Christian symbolic motifs such as mythical animals, vegetative elements, and geometric designs.

Inside, there are traces of Romanesque frescoes, including a Last Supper and fragments depicting Saint Christopher and other saints, probably from the 12th century. The presbytery is decorated with a series of 15th-century frescoes by Nicolao da Seregno. Another feature of the church is the hexagonal baptismal font from the 11th century, decorated with bas-reliefs, originally from the parish church.

The exterior of the church is clad in granite with stones of varying heights, while the gabled façade is embellished with biforas, a cross-shaped opening, and two sculpted lions flanking the main portal. Restored in 1945, the church stands out for the harmony of its proportions and the elegant simplicity of its architectural forms, creating a structure of great aesthetic balance.

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