Chiesa di San Nicolò al Porto, an early-1100s AD Romanesque church at Lazise, Veneto, Italy.
Lazise, Lake Garda, Veneto, Italy: the early-12th century Romanesque Chiesa di San Nicolò al Porto stands by Lazise’s harbour and was dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari, patron saint of sailors. Over the centuries, the church’s simple and austere coursed stone and rubble walls have survived an earthquake in 1117, a fire in 1595, many decades of neglect and alternative uses such as a barracks, a storehouse, a theatre and a cinema. The apse had to be rebuilt after the fire and the dilapidated campanile or bell tower needed to be rebuilt in the late 1700s. In 1792, a portico that connected the church to the nearby early-15th century Venetian customs house was demolished because it was being used as a shelter for abandoned animals and to store fishing nets. The badly neglected church was closed in 1879, but in 1953, it was restored and reopened for worship, with a chapel dedicated to Lazise’s war dead. In 1926, a 13th century Byzantine-style Madonna had been discovered painted on an external tabernacle and the 1950s restoration work brought to light further interesting artworks, including School of Giotto frescoes dating from the 14th century on the interior walls.
Size: 2050px × 3042px
Location: Lazise, Lake Garda, Veneto, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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