Bari - San Nicola

A little way north of the cathedral in Bari is the church of San Nicola, a large pilgrimage church begun in 1087 but not completed until 1197, which is one of the finest achievements of Romanesque architecture in Apulia. Inside, above the high altar, is a tabernacle (12th century) and to the right of the altar is a "Madonna with Saints" by Vivarini (1476). In the apse is the tomb (1593) of Bona Sforza, wife of King Sigismund II of Poland and last duchess of Bari (d. 1558) and a marble bishop's throne. The crypt with 26 different columns contains a silver altar (1684) underneath which is a vault containing the remains of the popular Saint Nicholas of Bari (c. 350), patron of seamen, prisoners, pupils and children (principal feast May 8th).