Basilica di San Nicola

Basilica di San Nicola in Bari – the place of Christians pilgrimage, there the relics of the saint are placed.

The cathedral was established at the end of the 11th – the beginning of the 12th century. That time the region, previously being under the control of Byzantium, was seized by Italiens and Normans. The building of the church is directly connected with the act of stealing. The thing is that the relics were the property of the city Mira on the Mediterranean coast.

When the Saracens took the power, they moved the remains of Saint Nicholas to Bari and built the church for their keeping. Pope Urban II personally sanctified its crypt.

The Cathedral of Saint Nicholas looks like a castle, not a church, because of its massive towers. They are located on both sides of a facade. Moreover, several times basilica was functioning as a strengthened castle.

The interior of the cathedral is made in a Byzantine style. Inside of it, there is an episcopal throne, installed for the episcope at the end of the 11th century.

The crypt with 26 columns, where the relics are kept, is decorated with a jewel mosaics, as well as the ciborium. By the way, this ciborium is considered as the most ancient in Bari.

Basilica di San Nicola was an example for the architects, building the other cathedrals in this region.

The facade was restored several times. The first one was in the 13th century, the last one in the 20th. That time the baroque decorations were taken off, but the wooden parts of the arches and the canvases of Carlo de Rosa were left.

Nowadays the basilica has a museum with the collection of the unique ancient candelabrums. Some of them were granted to a cathedral by a King Charles I.