The origins of the churchof St. Nicholas are ancient but not known. It is mentioned for the first time in a document of 1096.
It was originally located in the middle of a forest, outside the walls of Ceccano and was dedicated to Our Lady.
In the thirteenth century, it was restored in the Cistercian style.
Further changes were made during the nineteenth century when the altar was rebuilt the altar and the sacristy added.
In the 1920's it was declared a Monument of National Interest.
The building including the bell tower was damaged by American bombing during the Second World War. The lower limestone part is the original, while the upper tuff blocks were rebuilt after the war.
Between the portal and the bell tower is a niche with a fresco of the Virgin and Child known as "Our Lady of the Forest" which dates from the fifteenth century. It was created in memory of the fact that the church stood in a forest.
The interior has three naves covered by large arches. On three pillars are inscriptions mentioning some of Ceccano Counts (Berardo, Thomas senior and junior) who favoured the restoration of the church.
The three rose windows of the old facade are only visible from the inside.
When the church was moved in the thirteenth century, in fact, the entrance was moved to one side and the main façade is hidden from the houses.
On the left of the entrance is a valuable font of the twelfth century, and a baptismal font made by local sculptor Domenico Peruzzi in the 1920s.
The church is decorated with an eighteenth-century painting donated by Prince Colonna, depicting the Sorrowful Virgin embracing the Christ just laid out.
Behind the altar there is a seventeenth-century painting depicting St. Nicholas, the Crucifixion and Saint Catherine of Alexandria while on the right aisle you can admire an eighteenth-century painting depicting the biblical scene of Tobias with the Archangel Raphael.
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