NikolaosRoute-The Via Nicolaiana® is a model European cultural itinerary that promotes a cross-border tangible and intangible heritage along the human and religious path of Nicholas of Myra, better known as St Nicholas of Bari.
The figure of the Saint represents a bridge between East and West, between histories and cultures of distant lands which intertwine thanks to the arrival of the cult of Nicholas in the Mediterranean basin and in Italy. Subsequently, his culture became contaminated with folklore, until it turned into the modern American legend of Father Christmas, our Santa Claus. The material itinerary, currently being implemented, starts in the Russian city of Rostov, following the route of the Russian monk Barlaam, considered the first pilgrim devoted to St. Nicholas, and continues through Ukraine and other EU countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. In Italy, before ending in Bari, the route also touches the city of Rome, in the area of Ostia, extending close to the Tiber river and the Tor di Valle cycle path. The areas concerned have recognised the importance of the project, which stands out as another possible religious, cycling and walking tourist itinerary, through which to promote knowledge of the intangible historical, hagiographic, artistic and literary heritage related to the cult of Nicholas. Another purpose of the cultural itinerary is to further investigate the impact of the figure of Nicholas, before and after the transfer of his relics in 1087 from Myra to Bari, including through the development of research, survey, promotion and dissemination of the Saint's cultural heritage and the study of his person and how it changed over time.
