The complex has an area of ​​8,000 square meters including the inn and the church “San Nikolay Chudotvorets”.

The initiative to build a complex of temples for Russian pilgrims who come to Bari to worship the relics of St. Nicholas belongs to the Russian Grand Duke Elizaveta Fjodorovna. The building was built on the design of the famous architect Alexei Shchusev with the donations of the faithful, including Emperor Nicola II. Because of the First World War the building was not completed, and in 1937 all the buildings together with the surrounding land were delivered to the Town Hall of Bari. In 1969, following the ecumenical policies of the Second Vatican Council, Lucio Demo was granted the celebration of Orthodox function in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Nicholas, in the name of friendship, respect and deep union with the Orthodox. On March 14, 2007, at the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Bari, negotiations for the delivery of the church to Russia were started. On January 23, 2012, the Municipality of Bari formally handed over the property of the Church to Mark Golovkov, Director of the Foreign Institutions of the Patriarchate of Moscow, presenting Aleksey Meshkov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Rome. [2]. Recently restored, the Russian Church continues to be a bridge with the civilizations of Eastern Europe and the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Bari is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites of Russian Orthodox faithful.