The patron of Arcola is Saint Nicholas of Bari, celebrated on 6 December in the church of San Nicolò, on via Parrocchiale.
The first mention of the parish church of the medieval village of Arcola goes back to a deed of 1132, when the building was placed under the jurisdiction of the Benedictine monks of the Isola del Tino. In the course of the 17th century, as the population grew, it was decided to enlarge the old, by then inadequate structure: the church of San Nicolò was raised to vicar seat of the Arcola parish community, with the transfer of the sacraments and furnishings from the old pieve of Saints Stephen and Margaret, which was downgraded to a public oratory. The enlargement work, begun on 2 May 1658, ended between 1672 and 1673; to make room for the new church the old bell tower, contemporary with the parish church, was demolished and rebuilt almost against the walls of the Obertengo castle, today the town hall.
