Chiesa di San Nicolò

In St. Nicholas square, right in the center of the historical part of Acquaviva, there is the main church, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari, the patron saint of Acquaviva.  Today’s building dates back to the first half of the XVI century, and stands where once was to have been an ancient crypt. The church was finished before 1612, when San Rocco was offered to the Augustinians. In 800 the church under went several expansions and architectural embellishments that made it as it is today. It shows the original brick facing, typical of the Marche. The tower is a square tower with balustrades on the upper terrace from which arises a spire.  The interior is the shape of a Latin cross with the chapels and altars overlooking an aisle, rich in art. On the walls of the nave are plaster statues of the Evangelists, these are located in the upper niches.  At the right side of the aisle we can find the Chapel of the Holy Cross. In this chapel, Domenico Paci, a sculputurer from Ascoli Piceno in 800, created angels bearing symbols of the Passion and Christ’s monogram surrounded by a golden laurel wreath. On the altar, there is an altar piece depicting Saint Helena and the finding of the Cross and an oil painting on canvas performed  by the late Renaissance Venetian school.  Go through a small room with the image of the Virgin and there to the right side stands the altar dedicated to St. Nicholas. There is an oil painting on canvas, depicting St. Nicholas and at his feet the three children that he had saved from dying. The arch that leads to the sanctuary has also been  decorated by Paci. This is one of the artists most significant works : The Glory, depicting Cherubim and Angels in flight between small fluffy clouds and halo effects, which surround the beautiful image of the Madonna and child. In the left transept, there is an altar with a beautiful painting on a canvas depicting the Deposition. It is from the end of ‘500 and shows much taste, sensitivity and colourful landscapes. In the center there is a circle of Saints with Mary holding the body of Christ and the three crosses on Golgotha. Look at the chapel of the Dead Christ which has been closed by a tapestry, this is the work of Don Luigi  Sciocchetti (1917) a painter from San Benedetto, depicting the holy women at the tomb. On either side of the tapestry directly on the walls, Sciocchetti has painted angels with symbols of passion. Within the small chapel is the coffin holding the Dead Christ. The coffin is attributed to Francesco Evangelisti of Ripatransone, dating from the seventeenth century. In the chapel on specially created shelves we can see eight papier-mâché statues representing the holy personages who accompanied Christ on Golgotha. Even today, the coffin with Christ and the eight statues are carried in procession through the streets of the town by torchlight in the evening of Good Friday.  Finally there is the Chapel of the Rosary, which has a richly adorned altar. Angels bearing the monogram of Mary and surrounded by a wreath of golden roses, this is also a work of Paci. The altarpiece, depicting the Virgin of the Rosary with St. Dominic, is an oil on canvas, a copy of Federico Barocci.