The American tourist told about the purpose of the visit to the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari

On April 18, a tourist from the USA shared with Izvestia her impressions of a trip to the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy.

"I'm here to enjoy the beauty of this amazing basilica and see the sights. It's a kind of journey through areas of Puglia that I've never seen before. Everything is wonderful," the tourist said.

According to her, Holy Week inspires and reminds of the importance of spiritual freedom.

"Saints and Holy Week. A special time. We are so lucky to have this freedom that we don't even think about it," she said.

The tourist noted that the main purpose of the visit to the Basilica was to pray, ask for blessings, "to be safe on your way."

According to correspondent Vitaly Chashchukhin, despite Easter Eve, there was no pandemonium in the temple, and pilgrims could approach the shrine without waiting. Near the icon of the saint, one could see notes with requests in Russian and even a Russian banknote among the euros, as a sign that "some still manage to get" to this place, despite any obstacles.

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The demand for cakes, eggs, and dyes has doubled or tripled.

Earlier that day, pilgrim Tatiana Zholonko told Izvestia that despite the difficulties with obtaining visas and the lack of direct flights, pilgrims from Russia reached the Italian city of Bari, where the relics of one of the most revered saints in Russia, Nicholas the Wonderworker, are kept to celebrate Easter there.