Church of San Nicola di Bari in Termini Imerese

Church of San Nicola di Bari in Termini Imerese

Termini Imerese it owes its name to the ancient thermal complex of which it is still possible to admire the remains today. The origin is given by Greek colony of Himera founded in 648 BC, at the end of the fighting of the Greek-Punic wars.
According to legend, the baths were born at the behest of the nymphs who wanted to please the goddess Athena and the myth says that it was Hercules who was the first to immerse himself in their waters to unwind after the battle with Erice.

During the Roman Empire, the city experienced a period of great wealth which earned it the nickname of "Civitas Splendidissima". In this period the forum, the curia, the amphitheater, the port, the bridge of San Leonardo and the aqueduct were built.

History of the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Termini Imerese

It is not known exactly which was the first site of the church of Termini Imerese but there are documents which attest that this town was a bishopric until the arrival of the Saracens on the island. It was thanks to the reconquest made by the Norman and until the mid-XNUMXth century that the Cathedral of Termini Imerese it was the church of San Giacomo, consecrated by the then Pope Innocent III.

It is due to Frederick II of Swabia the aggregation of the church of Termini Imerese with that of nearby Palermo to which regent priest, even if no longer bishop, was given the task of appointing the various chaplains.

During the' Aragonese period the era of the archpriests begins and at the end of the fifteenth century a new place of worship is built in the upper part of the city in a less uncomfortable and more central position. This church was assigned the function of parish and matrix which, during the XNUMXth century given the commercial development of the city and the increase in population, needed to be enlarged through the contribution of city gabelles.

Thus it was that in the second half of the seventeenth century the structures and façade were completed together with the decoration of the apses of the transept. Works which, a century later, were followed by a conservative restoration and the addition of embellishments such as the high reliefs found in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

Architecture and any works of art present in the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Termini Imerese

There are four statues placed in the side niches that characterize the facade completed in the early twentieth century. These are copies of statues whose originals are found inside the church, and are elements of the marble retable coming from the primitive church of San Maria la Nova. The entrance doors are made more important by majestic portals accompanied by columns in a composite style.

Inside, the right aisle houses the Chapel of the Madonna della Mazza where there is a marble statue by Giorgio da Milano from the XNUMXth century. In the fourth span is the Chapel of the Virgin of the Bridge characterized by a marble oval designed by Marabitti

The left aisle houses the Chapel of the Crucifix with the wooden crucifix by Di Leo dating back to the sixteenth century. Remarkable is the marble artefact located on the Transept behind the high altar representing the Virgin Enthroned, the maximum expression of the Sicilian Renaissance created in the early XNUMXth century by Giuliano Mancino and Bartolomeo Berrettaro.

There are also other works of art and various wall paintings dating back to the sixteenth century.

What you can do around the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Termini Imerese

Termini Imerese offers points of extreme interest worthy of being known. This is a short list of suggested places.

San Leonardo bridge
The eighteenth-century Ponte di San Leonardo, built under the Habsburg reign, is a considerable architectural work located outside the city on the SS113. Built only from a central round arch and a small lateral arch with perpendicular ramps, it was a necessary link with the road leading to Palermo.

Church Maria SS. announced
In the Rocchecelle district and dating back to the seventeenth century, this church was built on the remains of a previous church of medieval origin and is recognizable by the beautiful dome made of blue majolica which rests on an octagonal drum. The seventeenth-century facade houses an important portal from 1634 on whose sides there are two other smaller portals. You enter through an eighteenth-century portal which allows you to access a garden that anticipates the church in which various works of art are visible, including a marble group representing the Holy Family.

Thermal establishments
Of volcanic origin, the baths are characterized by two springs that gush out water of the salsobromoiodic type which emerges at a temperature of 43 degrees and which in ancient times gave rise to the Terme Himerensis. Even if the mythicized origin is due to the Nymphs, it was the Romans who built the first thermal establishment on which ruins, in later periods, two other buildings were built: one from the eighteenth century and another from the end of the nineteenth century.

How is it possible to get to the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Termini Imerese

By car::

From Palermo, take the A19 Palermo/Catania highway to the Termini Imerese exit, or take the SS113 "Settentrionale Sicula" road.
From Messina, take the A20 Messina/Palermo motorway to the Termini Imerese exit, or the SS113 "Settentrionale Sicula".
From Catania, take the A19 Catania/Palermo motorway to the Termini Imerese exit.
From Agrigento take the SS189 up to Villabate (PA) and continue on the A19 Palermo/Catania motorway with the Termini Imerese exit.