Church of San Nicola da Bari in Saponara
The Church of San Nicola di Bari in Saponara is the Mother Church of the small village.
It is the oldest building in Saponara, its construction dates back to the 16th century. However, the current appearance of the church is the result of the restoration carried out during the first thirty years of the twentieth century, after the 1908 Messina earthquake had severely damaged the original building. However, many eighteenth-century elements remain identifiable in the facade, as well as the Renaissance style in the bell tower.
The main facade is divided into two orders: in the first there are three portals, of which the main one is higher and surmounted by the tympanum in relief, while the other two side openings are smaller and decorated with Rococo elements; the second order, which rises only in correspondence with the central nave, is characterized by a large rectangular window. The building is surmounted at its apex by a tympanum.
The high Renaissance-style bell tower overlooks the square, from the side of the Church, with three orders, windows and seven bells.
The interior, divided into three aisles with marble columns with Corinthian capitals, it is in Baroque style, rich in details and decorations. The main altar is decorated with marble and red columns.
Inside the Church you can admire sacred furnishings and works of particular value created between the 16th and 20th centuries: the reliquary half-bust of St. Nicholas from the 17th century; the Baptismal font of the Renaissance work attributed to the school of Gagini; the processional banners in silk, silver and gold; the canvases representing the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 1730, the Madonna del Rosario from 1777 and other biblical scenes.
