{"id":309141,"date":"2024-08-09T21:23:30","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T19:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/what-to-see\/cisternino-mother-church-of-san-nicola-di-pa-tara-2\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:40:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:40:38","slug":"cisternino-mother-church-of-san-nicola-di-pa-tara","status":"publish","type":"what-to-see","link":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/what-to-see\/cisternino-mother-church-of-san-nicola-di-pa-tara\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother Church of San Nicola"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mother Church of San Nicola in Cisternino<\/strong><\/a> is one of the town\u2019s most important religious monuments, a living testament to a thousand-year history that has its roots in the medieval era.<\/p>\n

The present building dates back to the 14th century, but was constructed on the ruins of an older early Christian church associated with the Basilian monks, dating from around the year 1000. Over the centuries, the structure has undergone numerous extensions and alterations: in the 16th and 17th centuries, new chapels were added, whilst the original Romanesque fa\u00e7ade was replaced in the 19th century by the current Neoclassical fa\u00e7ade, punctuated by pilasters and crowned by a tympanum.<\/p>\n

The interior, however, retains its medieval character, with a three-nave plan divided by stone columns with carved capitals. The side chapels enrich the liturgical and artistic experience: in the right-hand aisle are the chapels of the Blessed Sacrament and the Rosary, adorned with paintings and sculptures of great value. Among these, the famous Madonna del Cardellino (1517) stands out, created by Stefano da Putignano, one of the most important examples of the Renaissance in Apulia.<\/p>\n

In the left aisle, traces of frescoes can be seen depicting the Madonna of Constantinople flanked by Saint George and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whilst the high altar is dominated by a wooden statue of Saint Nicholas, the city\u2019s patron saint. The sacristy also houses valuable works, including paintings and bas-reliefs.<\/p>\n

Of particular interest is the archaeological area beneath the church, discovered between 1999 and 2000, which preserves the remains of the ancient medieval building: a small single-nave hall with a semicircular apse, burial pits and traces of Byzantine-influenced frescoes. The excavations have also yielded artefacts such as coins, pottery and grave goods, offering a valuable insight into the religious and daily life of the past.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Mother Church of St Nicola represents a perfect blend of eras and styles, where medieval rigour merges with later additions, creating a space rich in charm, art and spirituality that continues to this day to be the religious heart of Cisternino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover the Mother Church of San Nicola in Cisternino, with its medieval art, archaeological excavations and the Madonna del Cardellino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":236177,"template":"","village-conntection":[50603],"what-to-see-region-and-provinces":[76111,76114],"what-to-see-category":[30159],"class_list":["post-309141","what-to-see","type-what-to-see","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","village-conntection-cisternino-it","what-to-see-region-and-provinces-apulia","what-to-see-region-and-provinces-brindisi-en","what-to-see-category-place-of-cult"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/what-to-see\/309141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/what-to-see"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/what-to-see"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/what-to-see\/309141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"village-conntection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/village-conntection?post=309141"},{"taxonomy":"what-to-see-region-and-provinces","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/what-to-see-region-and-provinces?post=309141"},{"taxonomy":"what-to-see-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/what-to-see-category?post=309141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}