San Nicola di Bari is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church located in

Randazzo Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta. Randazzo ( scn, Rannazzu) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the northern foot of Mount Etna, c. northwest of Catania. It is the nearest to ...

in the region of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Italy.

History and description

A church at the site was initially built in the 13th century. The peculiar polygonal apse with a medieval cornice was built in a Norman-Swabian style. This church was originally dedicated to the ''Holy Savior'' (Santissimo Salvatore). With the importations of

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

to this neighborhood during the rule of Sicily under the Normans, the church's patron changed. However, the church underwent a major refurbishment during 1591 to 1605, with construction of nave pillars. Under the Aragonese rule of the Kingdom of Sicily, the church served as site for the reunion of the General Parliament of Sicily. The original bell-tower collapsed during the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7. ...

. In 1746, after another reconstruction, the church was reconsecrated. In 1751 it became a collegiate church. Bombardment during 1943 caused damage to the church, including collapse. The architect of the 16th-century facade was Andrea Calamech. The elements are clearly defined using dark lava stone. The campanile, still incomplete, was built in 1783. Among the works housed inside the church is a marble painted sculpture of ''San Nicola di Bari'' (1523) by

Antonello Gagini Antonello Gagini (1478–1536) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria. Antonello belonged to a family of sculptors and artisans, originally from Northern Italy, but active throughout Italy, including Gen ...

. There is a painted crucifix on wood from the 16th century, the Renaissance triptych ''Virgin between Saints Lucy and Agatha'', the 15th-century altarpiece ''Madonna and Child with St James'', ''Christ bearing the Cross'' by Onofnio Gabriele, and ''Trinity'' (1651) by Giuseppe Tomasi.Comune of Randazzo
tourism entry The mutilated statue in front of the church is called the statue of old Randazzo (''Ranazzu Vechiu''). Putatively the statue depicts a surrounded by the symbols of the ancient city's three communities: Latin (eagle), Greek (lion), and Lombards (snake).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicola Randazzo 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy