Basilica di San Nicola, Bari

The Basilica di San Nicola stands in the heart of Bari's old town, Bari Vecchia, in the Apulian region of southern Italy, and is one of the foremost monuments of Apulian Romanesque architecture. It was begun in 1087 to enshrine the relics of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century bishop whose cult underlies the figure of Santa Claus. In that year sailors from Bari carried his bones from Myra, in present-day Turkey, to their city, and construction of a grand church to house them began at once, continuing until its consecration in 1197. The broad facade, flanked by two towers and divided by pilasters, set the model for Romanesque churches across the region. Inside, a wide nave with deep arches, a carved twelfth-century episcopal throne of Bishop Elia resting on crouching figures, and a ciborium over the altar survive from the medieval church, alongside later Baroque additions including a coffered ceiling. The principal goal of pilgrims is the crypt beneath the presbytery, a forest of columns with varied antique capitals, where the saint's relics lie under the altar and are said to exude a clear liquid, the manna, collected each year. Because Saint Nicholas is venerated by both Western and Eastern Christians, the basilica is a major centre of pilgrimage for Roman Catholic and Orthodox faithful alike, and an Orthodox chapel is maintained within the complex. The church has been restored several times, notably in the twentieth century when later accretions were removed to recover the Romanesque interior, and the crypt pavements were conserved. The annual Feast of Saint Nicholas, held in May, recreates the translation of the relics with processions by sea and land. Visitors can explore the upper church, the crypt, the treasury and a museum displaying liturgical objects, making the basilica both a living place of worship and a record of medieval Bari's maritime ambition.