Well if you have been reading my blog, for which I thank you; you know my sentimental attachment to Cuenca and many family vacations. I ,also, have, several posts on the city and surrounding areas in Castilla La Mancha autonomous community. However, there was one older post crammed with several churches of great architectural and historical value that I have decided to spin off into individual posts giving them the credit they deserve in my blog. Hope you enjoy each of them as we did!
The Church of San Nicolas de Bari (13/14C) of Cuenca. On your left side further down you come to the old cementary, there is a statue sitting there in the middle now, The Church of San Nicolás de Bari seems to have already been built in the 15C, although architecturally speaking, its structure does not resemble the typical Renaissance buildings of this century. The church is built on the basis of ordinary masonry walls, with mortar coating, and is reinforced at its corners by ashlar masonry.
The Church of San Nicolas de Bari has three very simple facades. The main one, in the Plaza de San Nicolás, contains the access door to the church, made up of a pointed arch with a molding, supported by attached pilasters, with a simple capital. The tower, attached to the church, has a rectangular floor plan and is made up of two bodies: The lower one, built with masonry coated with mortar and reinforced at the corners with ashlars, and the upper body, all made of ashlar masonry, topped by a stone cornice and eaves. The roof of the tower is tiled with four waters. The Church of San Nicolas de Bari has a single nave, divided into three bodies. Separating each of the sections are attached pilasters, topped by entablature, on which semicircular arches rest. The vault of the temple is half-barrel with lunettes.
In the first body is the High Altar, in which we find an image of the saint supposedly buried in Italy, and some red marble niches on both sides of it. On the right side of the Altar there is a door, through which you reach some stairs, Beautifully made of stone and helical in shape, they give access to the tower’s bell. Inside, the Capilla de los Condes de Priego or Chapel of the Counts of Priego and some carvings on the main altar stand out. The church reflects characteristics from different periods: the tower is from the 16C and the exterior, together with the head of the naves and the transept, are late Gothic. The rest is later, as it had to be rebuilt after the fire suffered in 1839.
The great renovation of 2019. The intervention consisted in the elimination of the sources of humidity from the outside of the church, with the provision of a chamber to ventilate the subsoil and the base of the walls. Worked was done on the air conditioning system and the electrical installation and lighting have been renewed, as well as the fire and emergency detection system. The flooring has been replaced by marble tiles, the carpentry has been renovated and a windbreak has been installed as access to the church. Likewise, access from the outside has been restructured.
The Castilla La Mancha regional tourist office on the Church St Nicolas de Bari :http://en.www.turismocastillalamancha.es/patrimonio/iglesia-de-san-nicolas-31364/descripcion/
The Parish Diocese of Cuenca on the Church St Nicolas de Bari : https://www.diocesisdecuenca.es/parroquia/parroquia-de-san-nicolas-de-bari/
There you go folks, a dandy nice Church San Nicolas de Bari in wonderful Cuenca; we love it. There is so much to see in this Unesco World Heritage Site indeed. Hope you enjoy the post as much as I did. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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