Chiesa di San Nicola (Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas), Bari

The Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas was constructed as a sanctuary for Russian pilgrims journeying to Bari to venerate the relics of Saint Nicholas, which rest in the nearby Basilica. Commissioned in 1911 by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and designed by architect Alexei Viktorovich Shchusev, its foundation stone was laid on 22 May 1913, although construction extended beyond the First World War.

Architecturally, this church deviates from the more common Moscow–Yaroslavl styles of Russian diaspora architecture. Instead, it embraces the rarer Pskov–Novgorod aesthetic, offering visitors a unique window into a distinct strand of Russian ecclesiastical design.

Following the upheavals of the Russian Revolution, pilgrimages declined and, in 1937, the church complex became municipal property. Nevertheless, it retained its sacred function and, following ecumenical developments in the 1960s, Orthodox worship was occasionally held within the Basilica’s crypt, reflecting growing cooperation between Catholic and Orthodox communities in Bari.

Diplomatic efforts to restore the church to the Russian Orthodox Church culminated during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit in 2007, with a formal handover taking place on 1 March 2009, attended by Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano and Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev.