Cathedral of San Nicola di Mira
Place of worship
Cathedral of San Nicola di Mira (Qisha and Shën Kollit) dates back to the eighteenth century and is the main church of the Eparchy of Lungro. The current building dates from 1721, after an earthquake that destroyed the existing churche. The Cathedral has a Romanesque-Baroque basilica plant, with three naves, a large central dome and an apse. Rich in mosaics, icons and Byzantine frescoes, has the beauty of sacred Eastern Christian, which also preserves the iconostasis: the mosaic of the Pantocrator covers the entire surface of the central dome; also relevant is the large mosaic of the apse, surmounted by a mosaic of Platitera surrounded by the figures of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael, from King David and the Prophet Isaiah; and the mosaic of the Chapel of the Baptismal Font, designed by Albanian painter and mosaic artist, Josif Droboniku, also author of the dome and mosaic of the Last Judgement, above the main nave.
In the Sacristy it is constituted a fragment of a fresco depicting Saint Parasceve (XII century), along with valuable paintings by the Neapolitan school and wooden statues of exquisite workmanship. The aisles, already frescoed by Macedonian K.Tsitlavidis, have recently been enriched by the paintings by Greek artists T. Charalambos and T. Gregory from Thessaloniki. Of great artistic workmanship are the three bronze doors with reliefs made using the lost wax by Calabrian sculptor Talarico, representing scenes from the Gospels.
