Chiesa di San Nicolò dei Mendicoli
Venezia, IT
The church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli or dei Mendicanti was built as early as the 7th century. This was the headquarters of the so-called Nicolotti, one of the factions of the Venetian people who were bitter rivals of the similar faction of the Castellani, who lived at the other end of the city in the neighbourhood of San Pietro di Castello. At least once a year, the two factions would clash violently on the Ponte dei Pugni (Fist Bridge) in the nearby parish of San Barnaba, in a traditional fistfight. The church was severely damaged in the flood of 4 November 1966. In the 1970s it was completely restored.