Iglesia de San Nicolas

The church of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir is the best example in Valencia of the coexistence of a temple with a Gothic structure and its Baroque decoration.

The church of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir is probably the best example of the coexistence of a temple with a Gothic structure and its Baroque decoration that we will find in Valencia. It was one of the first parish churches founded after the Christian conquest, and has the usual floor plan with a single nave with six chapels between the buttresses and a polygonal apse. From its Gothic past it still retains the simple foot gate, built in the second half of the 15th century, with archivolts and a rose window above it with a plate of meat in relief, alluding to a miracle of Saint Nicholas. To the right of this portal there is an exterior chapel closed with a gate that is called del fossar, because the parish cemetery used to be there. The other door, which leads to the Plaza de San Nicolás, is however a neo-Gothic recreation from the 19th century, and through it we access the interior, where we will be surprised by the lavish Baroque decoration, attributed to Juan Pérez Castiel and executed between 1690 and 1693, and above all the frescoes designed by Antonio Palomino and made by Dionís Vidal, who covered the Gothic vaults with scenes from the life of Saint Nicholas of Bari and Saint Peter the Martyr of Verona, together with Virtues and Allegories in risky foreshortenings. It is also worth noting the wealth of the altarpieces in the chapels, where we will find works by Joan de Joanes, Yánez de la Almedina, Espinosa or Vergara.

The surroundings of the church still have the flavor of the old urban fabric, of tortuous streets and secluded squares, through which it is worth strolling peacefully, letting historical buildings and corners with a popular aftertaste peek out in our path.

Church of San Nicolas: on Mondays it is filled with devotees.

Map of the Church of San Nicolas

Address:
Caballeros 35, Valencia 46001.