The convent of San Nicolò, along with the adjacent and homonymous church, is a religious complex in Schio located on a hill about two kilometers from the historic center. It has always been managed by the Capuchins, who returned in 1946 after the suppression of the mid-eighteenth century. Throughout its long history, the convent hosted illustrious guests such as Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Saint Leopold, and Marco of Aviano.
The origins of the church are not known, but it is known that in the thirteenth century it was without an attached convent and was the seat of a group of penitents. It remained so at least until 1536, when it was ceded by the Municipality to the Capuchin friars, who had just arrived in the city and were led by the Schio native Brother Matteo Pedrazza.
A provisional convent was initially built around the building, and in 1570 radical reconstruction work began, which also involved the church. This was demolished and rebuilt with surrounding structures created to accommodate the friars. The work continued throughout the rest of the sixteenth century, until 1602, when it was consecrated under the title of San Nicolò.
Subsequently, the complex was expanded with the sacristy, the refectory, and the library.
In 1606, the Capuchins abandoned the convent due to the alignment they had to take during the disputes between the Republic of Venice and the Holy See. In 1607, after the fighting ended, they nonetheless obtained permission to return to their convent.
In 1769, the convent was suppressed and incorporated into the assets of the Republic, divided into lots and used as private residences, while the church remained open to the faithful.
After various negotiations, in which the Bishop of Treviso Andrea Giacinto Longhin and Pope Pius X were also involved, the convent was returned for religious use in 1926.
The complex was officially reopened with a solemn mass on April 28, 1946, with the presence of the Bishop of Vicenza Carlo Zinato, following a radical renovation.
In 2013, the last friars present at San Nicolò were transferred to other convents, thus determining the closure of the oldest Capuchin convent in Veneto.
The church, very sober, perfectly reflects the ideal of Capuchin poverty.
The facade has a single eye. The entrance is preceded by a small portico supported by terracotta pillars; below it is a plaque commemorating the consecration of the church.
In a niche, above the side door that leads to the convent's premises, there is a skull accompanied by the warning: “O mortal you who gaze, wonder and think, / I was as you are with soul and senses / You too will be changed like I am / think from the heart about this and go with God”.
A characteristic feature is the sail bell tower.
The interior is a single nave with a visible truss roof. On the left is the only side chapel, dedicated to Felice da Cantalice, and the tombstone of Brother Matteo, a particularly beloved Capuchin father. Large paintings, mostly by anonymous or local authors from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, are hung on both walls of the nave.
The flooring is made of terracotta and the main altar, of modern craftsmanship, is made of dark walnut supported by four small Doric columns.
The wooden tabernacle, carved and gilded, is of great artistic significance, attributed to an anonymous artist of the seventeenth century. The altarpiece behind, Saint Nicholas with Saints Francis, Clare, Catherine of Alexandria, and Lawrence, more than four meters high, was created in 1607 by the Vicentine painter Alessandro Maganza, with two paintings by Cosimo from Castelfranco on either side completing the composition. The wooden choir, also very sober, retains the shapes assumed in the eighteenth century.
Photo: archive of the Municipality of Schio.
