LA SACRA DI SAN MICHELE

1. LA SACRA DI SAN MICHELE

2. The veneration of Saint Michael Michael the Archangel is mentioned five times in Holy Scripture St. Michael is revered in the Christian tradition as a defender of the Christian people The oldest and most famous place of veneration of Saint Michael in the west, is the Sanctuary of San Michele in Monte Sant'Angelo, which was erected on the promontory of Gargano in the fifth century.

3. What you can see The Monumental Complex of Sacra di San Michele includes: • Sepulcher of the Monks • The guest quarters • Entrance and statue of Saint Michael • Great Staircase of the Dead and Portal of the Zodiac • Flying buttresses and Entrance Portal • Ruins and Tower of beautiful Alda • Ancient workshop and hermit cell • Old rooms of Savoy House • The library

4. Sepulcher of the Monks It was thought to be a cemetery chapel but it now seems much more likely that this octagonal chapel was a  reproduction of the Holy Sepulchre

5. The guest quarters The current Guest House is largely a reconstruction dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, during which the building was crowned with battlements. The Little Guest House probably originated as some sort of service centre,  though the exact use is difficult to identify.

6. The entrance and statue of St. Michael It’s the best surviving examples of Romanesque apsidal loggias. The Benedictine monks undertook the major task of building the foundations in the first half of the twelfth century. On 24 September 2005 thestatue of St. Michael the Archangel was positioned.

7. The Great Staircase of the Dead and Portal of the Zodiac In the central niche several skeletons of monks were displayed until 1936, hence the name: Great Staircase of the Dead.This "entrance hall" was once much used for the burial of distinguished men. It ends at the Portal of the Zodiac. It is so called because the jambs on the sides turned towards the staircase, are carved on the right with the twelve signs of the zodiac and on the left with the southern and northern constellations.

8. The flying Buttresses and Entrance Portal Beyond the Portal of the Zodiac is the last ramp to the church: it is a solemn green stone staircase, under the yoke of four impressive flying buttresses.

9. The ruins and tower of beautiful Alda The north-west side of the mountain is occupied by impressive ruins.These are the so-called Ruins of the New Monastery. The perimeter wall of the ruins ends with a tower overhanging the precipice of the mountain: it is the so-called Tower of the Beautiful Alda, which takes its name from the following legend.

10. The ancient workshop and hermit cell In the workshop the works of maintaining tools was carried out and new products were handmade. This is a small room discovered in 1987 beneath the level of the corridor that runs below the floor of the "Old Choir". It is a narrow space of about 2 meters on each side. At the time of its discovery, it was full of rubble.

11. The old rooms of the House of Savoy The Royal House of Savoy came to regard it as symbolically important, but also as having a diplomatic and political value. The evidence of this attention can be found in the fitting out of a living room, reception and representation rooms, with period decor and furnishings.

12. The library The current library was set up only from October 1836, with the arrival of the Rosminian Fathers on Mount Pirchiriano. Rosmini himself sent a letter from Stresa with the list of books to buy, two days after the arrival of the first religious.Initially, the library, contained about 300 volumes and, over time, an important wealth of texts was gathered, up to the current number of about 10,000 volumes