San Nicola dei Lorenesi, Baroque church near Piazza Navona, Italy.
San Nicola dei Lorenesi is a baroque church in Rome, located near Piazza Navona. It has a single nave with two side chapels and a short transept, giving the floor plan the shape of the Cross of Lorraine.
The church was rebuilt by architect François Desjardins and completed in 1632 to serve as a place of worship for the Duchy of Lorraine's community at the Holy See. It replaced an earlier building that had already been used by that community.
The church is one of five French Catholic churches in Rome, run since 2006 by the Community of Saint John. Its name comes from the Confraternity of Saint Nicholas and Saint Catherine of the Nation of Lorraine and Barrois, founded in 1587. In 2013 a relic of Saint Nicholas in a damascened steel reliquary was blessed at Nancy Cathedral for this church.
The church sits on Largo Febo, a short walk from Piazza Navona, and is easy to find on foot. Visitors can enter during regular services and weekday prayer hours.
The inscription band across the facade reads "INHONOREMS NICOLAI NATIO LOTHA RINGORVM", the Latin dedication recording that the Lorraine nation built the church in honour of Saint Nicholas. Look for the two shallow blank arched niches flanking the green double doors beneath the triangular pediment.
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