San Nicola in Carcere

The church of San Nicola in Carcere (Latin: Sancti Nicolai in Carcere Tulliano ) is a Roman title diakonia, National Church of Puglia, Lucanians in Rome and former Collegiate and Parish Church.

History

The church building stands on the site of an old Roman temple complex, which has between Capitol Theatre of Marcellus and the Tiber port on the forum Holitorium, an ancient vegetable market, found. This temple complex consisted of three buildings that make up a single complex. About the deities worshiped there, there is no accurate knowledge.

The dating of the church foundation is also scientifically questionable. In the Liber Pontificalis is for the time of the pontificate of Hadrian I ( 772-795 ) proves the existence of a dungeon in the ancient buildings. The use of the building through a Christian community is believed by most researchers for the late 8th and the 9th century.

First historically reliable data exist only by an inscription in the church, which refers to a number of gifts that gave to a Roman priest of the Church in the time of Urban II in 1088. It is believed that this inscription enumerates the Foundation's. 1099, the church is under the pontificate of Paschal II already entitled carrier Ugone as Cardinal diakonia.

Its present form was domed by a significant renovation and new construction, which was consecrated in 1128 by order of Pope Honorius II. In the 1590s the interior was completely redesigned. The facade by Giacomo della Porta is from the year 1599th

The medieval bell tower originally served as a watchtower and was rebuilt in the 16th century.

1928, consisting of seven canons chapter was disbanded and in 1934 became the parish rights by Pius XI. repealed. Since then, the church was only open on Sundays and public holidays.

In 1958, the church was opened for daily worship and again in 1963 the chapel on the left side of the ship as a prayer room for a miraculous image of the patron saint of Mexico reopened Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Name and patronage

In 1087 the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra were brought to Bari Italian. It was probably one of the first acts Urban II, who had ascended the papal throne in 1088, to dedicate the popular saints the Church. Since Nicholas beyond is also the patron of prisoners, probably the naming of a church in the former prison buildings was near. However, the high proportion of the Greek population that lived in this part of town, you will have considered by a saint from the eastern Mediterranean in the naming.

Customs

In the Middle Ages and early modern times the Church fulfilled important social and religious functions: young mothers care at the church to foundlings and abandoned their excess milk from in order to donate to orphans or less advantaged young children. This custom of caring for foundlings was probably a mixture of an old legend of a daughter of her in the dungeon, on the foundations of the church stands, caged and there starving mother offered her breasts to the refreshment and the special patronage of St. Nicholas on the children. For a long time the church had the right, on St. Nicholas Day (December 6 ) freizubitten a prisoner. Until late in the 19th century, the lower church was also used for conducting exorcisms.