Church of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir

The Church of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir has recently been restored, revealing a pictorial display that experts have called the Valencian 'Sistine Chapel'. It is amongst the first twelve Christian parish churches in the city of Valencia following the reconquest of Jaume I in 1238. Erected as a parish church around 1242, it was remodelled at the initiative of the Borja family in the Gothic style between 1419 and 1455, with the Gothic rib vault contracting in the central nave. Between 1690 and 1693, the interior was recoated with Baroque decoration and fresco paintings of scenes of the life of San Nicolás de Bari (Saint Nicholas) and San Pedro Mártir (Saint Peter Martyr), designed by Antonio Palomino and painted by Dionis Vidal.

Every Monday the Church of San Nicolás de Bari receives hundreds of visitors who make the “Walks of Saint Nicholas” or Devotion to San Judas Tadeo (Saint Jude Thaddaeus), patron of impossible causes. Its restoration has been classified as 'the most important architectural and pictorial-ornamental work ever carried out anywhere in the world due to the scale of the work and the techniques used', and you can now visit the church with or without a guided tour.

References:

• Visit Valencia

Address

Carrer de l'Abadia de Sant Nicolau 8, Valencia, Spain

Details

Founded: 1242
Category: Religious sites in Spain