Basilica San Nicola (Basilica of Saint Nicholas), Bari (must see)

Saint Nicholas of Myra, in Asia Minor (Anatolia), is not to be confused with Saint Nicholas of Lyra, a 13th-century Franciscan scholar from Lyre, Normandy. Nicholas of Bari was, it is said, a prolific worker of miracles. He is the patron of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, the unmarried, and students.

Born in the 3rd century, he survived the persecutions of Diocletian and became Bishop of Myra. In 1087, merchants from Bari removed his bones from Saracen-controlled Myra and brought them home to Italy. A church was consecrated in 1197 to house his relics. It was built during the era of Norman rule in Apulia.

The Basilica of Saint Nicholas, built in the Puglia-Romanesque style, has a more or less square plan, giving it the appearance of a castle. Two stout towers flank the facade. The interior has a nave and two aisles with granite columns. The presbytery is divided by three arches held up by Byzantine columns. There is a "women's gallery" above the aisles.

The exterior is made with white blocks of limestone. The plain facade has minimum decorations. The inside, with its columns, arches, and gilded vaults is more inviting. The relics of Saint Nicholas are kept in a vault filled with marble columns and brick cross-vaults. The sacristy holds precious gifts donated by Popes, kings, and bishops.

The high altar is covered by a ciborium or baldachin of the 12th century. The central apse floors are inlaid with marble and oriental motifs of mythological flora and fauna. The resting place of Saint Nicholas is under the central altar of the crypt. Access to the crypt is by two staircases at the ends of the side aisles.

The basilica is located in the Largo Abate Elia district on the seashore by the Emperor Augustus waterfront (Lungomare Imperatore Augusto), a short distance from the Bari Centrale railway station.