(St. Nicholas' Church)
The existence of the church
is testified for the first time, in 1196, in theAnnales
Ceccanenses, when the bishop of Terracina came to Ceccano
to bless Santa Maria a Fiume. Situated in the higher part of the
town, once it arouse out of the walls and for this reason it could
be easily attacked. In the XIII century the church was broke down
and rebuilt with an irregular plan. The restoration of the church
implicated different benefactors, as we can see through the gothic
inscriptions of the pillars: Tommaso II (1299-1381), Bernardo II (
† 1321), Tommaso I ( † 1334) and Tommaso III ( †
1381).
In 1814 Domenico Sindici
ordered to build a new altar with marble, while in 1882 it was the
turn of Lorenzo Gizzi. He ordered to build a sacristy, where it is
possible to admire his tombstone. During the Second World War the
church was rocketed by the USA bombs and the last restoration works
were realized by the Civil engineering.
The interior of the
church is made up of three naves covered by gothic arches and held
up by two pillars.
There are two oil-cloths of the
XVIII century: one was gifted by Domenico Sindici in 1814 and it
represents a biblical scene of Tobiolo with
the ArchangelRaphael, while the other is an
oil-cloth of the Suffering of the Virgin belonging to the Prince
Colonna.
According to the professor Marcello
Carlino, Saint Nicholas doesn't have a true facade because of the
position of the portal. It seems that the church has been
twisted.
(For more informations
please visit the Italian website)