In my study on the villages of Cilento, strangely I did not found any documents in the texts written by Baron Antonini and Dr. Ebner. I have found these few news on the website of the Association Omnia «Santu Nicola, tri casi nu furnu e 'na campana appisa to n'urmu.
This popular saying is the starting point for reconstructing the history of St. Nicholas of Centola.
A bell, small, initially hung from an elm, with a bas-relief depicting St. Nicholas, it is the first evidence of a village dating back to the seventeenth century, considering the inscription: Maria - Jesus AD 1695 that on it was found. The church, partially destroyed by the landslide of 1963, should date back to the end of the sixteen hundred. Until about sixty years ago in the church, under the vault of one of the side chapels, was visible the coat of arms of the princes Sanseverino.
Cause that the deduction that St. Nicholas for a time was a stronghold of the noble family that has ruled for generations Southern Italy. St. Nicholas before 1800 was called «Villa St. Nicholas. Villa, according to the Latin etymology, means: farm, country house. Some hypotheses have been advanced by Pietro De Luca and that would seem to trace the origins of St. Nicholas to the period that should be between the eighth and tenth centuries.
Pietro De Luca would not exclude that, where is found the current center or nearby has arisen over the centuries these, an Italo-greek monastery dedicated to the Saint of Mira and then disappeared after the Saracen invasions or other events , then the first building would seem to be due to an abode of monks.
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