Oratory of San Nicola

Address and contacts

Via della Resistenza - 42048 Rubiera
0039 0522 620203 - Parish church of Rubiera

Opening times

The oratory is open only during May and on the 10th September

How to get there

Rubiera

By car
From Reggio Emilia, drive along Via Emilia (SS9) in the direction of Modena.

By train
From Reggio Emilia Railway Station: Trenitalia regional train.

By bus
Public transport service bus No. 2

Historical notes

At the end of the 18th century Giuseppe Medici from Modena added the two small-naved wings to the church’s central body and redesigned the façade. These benefactors left instructions for their heirs and successors to continue with the celebration of the Feast of San Nicola and the blessing and distribution of bread.
The Oratory is only open during May and on 10 September, the Feast of San Nicola, which was celebrated year after year until 1949, when it had to be suspended because the building had become unsafe. It was then purchased and restored by private owners; the works included the addition of a small bell tower housing both the original bell and another donated one. The interior was restored to its present state and the small courtyard in front of the building was re-laid in 1973 with period cotto tiles, covering the old, still extant river-pebble paving. Three inscriptions from different periods in the 20th century confirm that the paving covers three burial sites.
The great stone in the centre of the paving once served as the closure of the tomb for the priests of the old parish church. It was then used to close the ossuary in the cemetery outside the city walls. When the cemetery was destroyed it became part of the paving of a private courtyard, from whence it was removed and laid in its present position in the oratory.