San Nicola Church in Giornico

The church of San Nicola is located in a slightly elevated vineyard east of Giornico. It is considered the most impressive example of Lombard Romanesque archite...
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The church of San Nicola is located in a slightly elevated vineyard east of Giornico. It is considered the most impressive example of Lombard Romanesque architecture in Switzerland.

Neither construction dates nor owners are exactly known. There is a stone slab bearing the date 1168, but it is uncertain whether this refers to the construction or the consecration of the church.

The walls are built of hewn granite stones from the area. Beneath the roof, blind arcades lead around the building. The portals are decorated with mythical creatures. The rectangular nave is unrendered and open to the roof, on the walls remains of medieval frescoes are still visible. The crypt is only slightly recessed and open to the nave. One can simultaneously see the crypt and the choir above from the nave. The choir ends in an apse. In the ceiling of the apse there are late Gothic wall paintings of Nicolao da Seregno from the second half of the 15th century.
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