Belmonte Castello, Church of San Nicola

La Church of St Nicholas is the oldest of Belmonte Castle. It is located within the enclosure of the old cemetery not because it was intended to be a cemetery church, but because around it, for its veneration, the dead of the town began to be buried, forming a cemetery. It probably dates back to the 12th century and inside, although in a very poor condition and in a state of total abandonment, 14th-century frescoes with still vivid and splendid colours are preserved. Having perhaps escaped the eyes and criticism of the great scholars of the 19th century, its art treasures are still almost unknown to most of the population of Cassino and lower Lazio. The frescoes, which denote stylistic details similar to some paintings also seen in the Comino Valley, recall that extraordinary story of the Biblia Pauperum, i.e. the word of God told through images, for those who could not understand through writing. A mediaeval feature, this one, started as early as the 11th century through manuscript codices and then through frescoes in churches, as can still be seen today in many mediaeval churches in the area and especially in Sant'Elia Fiumerapido, where, not far from the centre, stands a true jewel of pictorial art: Santa Maria Maggiore.