Mother Church of Melilli
The Mother Church of Melilli is dedicated to San Nicola di Mira. It is considered the oldest sacred building in the country: we have certain news starting from 1308. The building was destroyed by the earthquakes of 1542 and 1693; its reconstruction ended in 1760.
Built with the limestone of the territory, the facade, as well as the interior, follows the typical scheme of the Christian basilica: compositional simplicity, linearity and solidity.
The inside it is a Latin cross, divided into three naves and a bell tower on the back. Of particular value are the two chapels, of the SS. Sacramento and Our Lady of Lourdes, full of valuable paintings. The first is characterized by an altar of great majesty that dates back to the early decades of the nineteenth century made with an imposing stalagmite extracted from the cave of Mastro Pietro, at the time used by the municipality as a quarry; the second for the pumice stone cave, executed in 1916.
Among the works kept inside, of particular value are: the 1762 ceiling canvas and the artistic oval "square" of the main altar.
