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Origin and history

The church of San Nicolao de Tomino, located in the municipality of Tomino in Upper Corsica, is a 17th century baroque building, rebuilt on the remains of an early church before the 12th century. Signed in ruins since 1115, it was offered by Bishop Ildebrandus de Mariana to the monastery of the island of Gorgone, with its tithes and outbuildings. In 1425 it became the property of the Chartreuse de Calci, before being rebuilt in the seventeenth century with a single nave and a side chapel.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the church was enlarged to meet the needs of a growing population and restored between 1870 and 1874. Its architecture is distinguished by a semi-circular bedside, a facade decorated with Corinthian columns and a rectangular bell tower. Inside, a unique nave leads to a choir in the hemicycle, with half a cupola painted in trompe-l'oeil. The building houses a classified painting, The Chartreux of Calci at the foot of the Virgin with the Child (1765), attributed to the Bastia painter Giovan-Battista Moro.

The history of the church is linked to local conflicts, such as the genoese siege of 1758-1762 during which a bomb killed several faithful. Under Pascal Paoli, his silver tabernacle was melted to finance the currency strike in Corte. The building, listed as a Historic Monument in 1991, also bears witness to the influence of religious orders, such as the Chartreux, who owned a hospice in Tomino.

The town of Tomino, integrated with the former pier of Rogliano, was marked by local lords like the Da Mare, then passed under direct Genoese administration in 1592. The church, spiritual and community center, reflects this turbulent history, between Genoese domination, Corsican resistance and wine development, once prosperous thanks to the Muscat of Cap Corse.

Today, San Nicolao remains an active place of worship, under the Diocese of Ajaccio, and a major architectural heritage of Cape Corsica, illustrating the cultural and religious exchanges between Corsica, Pisa and Genoa since the Middle Ages.

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