Church of San Nicolás

Chapter 9/11 · València

From outside this church is plain, but inside it hides one of the city's great treasures. San Nicolás was one of the first parishes after the conquest of 1238, built on an old mosque. In the fifteenth century it was rebuilt in Gothic style when its rector was Alfonso de Borja, who later became Pope Callixtus III.

Between 1697 and 1700 its vaults were covered with Baroque frescoes designed by Antonio Palomino and painted by Dionís Vidal, with scenes from the lives of Saint Nicholas and Saint Peter Martyr. The restoration, in two phases between 2012 and 2016, was funded by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation, and a team from the Polytechnic University of Valencia led by Pilar Roig recovered more than 1,900 square metres of paintings. The church reopened in February 2016, and the result is so spectacular that it is called «the Valencian Sistine Chapel».

If it is open, go in and look up: there is hardly a corner left unpainted. The entrance is from Carrer de Cavallers.

Now we go into the Carmen neighbourhood along Carrer de les Salines, Carrer de Baix and Carrer de Roteros to the Serranos Towers.

← Quart Towers (Torres de Quart) · Serranos Towers and the old Turia riverbed →