Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in the Marche region, was one of the great preachers and miracle workers of his time.
He passed the last thirty years of his life in this Augustinian monastery, where he died in 1305.
The Basilica was modified over successive centuries but the extraordinary Cappellone di San Nicola, where the saint is buried, and the magnificent adjoining cloister have survived in their original form.
The Cappellone di San Nicola houses a cycle of frescoes dating from around 1325 which are the largest and finest in the Marche and were to have a profound influence upon successive generations of Marche painters.
The adjoining 13th Century cloister formed part of the original monastery. Its varied designs of octagonal columns support a single upper storey, while the side adjacent to the church has a 16th century first floor loggia. The original fresco decorations were painted over by later frescoes (1690) though some traces remain.
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