Nicola da Forca Palena was a 14th-century Italian religious figure belonging to the Third Order of Saint Francis. Born in Forca, he later moved to Palena to pursue a life of intense pastoral service and penitential devotion. After traveling to Rome, he sought a more austere existence, eventually co-founding the Congregation of Poor Hermits of Saint Jerome alongside Pietro Gambacorta. He was a close associate of several popes, including Eugene IV, and is recognized as a blessed in the Catholic tradition.