Address: Rione San Nicola, Cocullo

Hours : Ruins always visible

Description

From the original façade, enclosed by corner pilasters, are traces of the horizontal crowning and, at the centre, there is a small doorway with an architrave topped by an arched lunette which still has traces of a fresco depicting the Madonna and Child and fragments of an inscription.
In line with the entrance there is a small rose window devoid of radial columns and, higher up, a stone engraved with the coat of arms of the Duke Sarachia - the legendary Lord of Cocullo who exercised the jus de seigneur and who was killed by deception by the villagers.
Attributable to subsequent centuries are the openings of the upper windows and a portal to the left of the main one, also with an architrave and a cornice supported by scrolled ledges.

Historical Notes

Built in the heart of the old village, next to what was probably the baronial mansion or castle - and according to some scholars was constructed out of the barn of the latter - the church was first mentioned in documents from the 14th century but was destroyed by the earthquake of 1915 and never restored.