Church and bell tower of San Nicola, via Santa Maria

Facciata Chiesa di San Nicola (G. Bettini, Comune di Pisa)

The construction of the building is prior to 1097. However, of the medieval style only the exterior and part of the façade remain today, since, starting from 1572, substantial restorations were carried out for the palace of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, of which the church was an integral part. Despite the damage suffered during the Second World War, the façade still shows features of the Pisan Romanesque style. The Bell tower, also leaning, is a jewel of Romanesque architecture, the work is attributed to the master Diotisalvi and therefore presumably coeval with the Baptistery of Pisa (13th century). Inside there is a spiral staircase, for some the model for the well of San Patrizio in Orvieto and for the Bramante staircase in the Vatican Museums, leading to the belfry. The interior of the church is a large space with barrel vaults and a row of three side chapels plus two on the sides of the high altar. Among the works preserved inside, there is a Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (first chapel on the right), a panel from 1428 representing San Nicola da Tolentino protecting Pisa, a work by Borghese di Piero Borghese, an iconic image of the city (third chapel on the right) and a small wooden Crucifix, a fourteenth-century work attributed to Giovanni Pisano (first chapel on the left of the main chapel).

History in a nutshell: Documented since 1097, the construction can be dated around the last years of the 10th century. In 1296, it passed to the Eremitani di S. Agostino who enlarged it. In 1572, perhaps following a fire, the 8 chapels were built and the great vault was created. The last restorations were carried out in the 19th century and gave it the neoclassical taste that can be admired upon entering.