Church of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Stephen

The holy warrior and Benedictine nuns

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The Churchof St. Michael has Longobard origins, evidenced right from the dedication. Indeed, the Archangel Michael, a warrior saint, was particularly beloved by the Lombard people, who found in it a connection with the ancient sword-armed deities of their pagan origin.

The church is located in the heart of the city.

Unfortunately, the church today finds no trace of its antiquity and is set up in the 16th-century manner of Counter-Reformation churches, with a single barrel-vaulted nave and the chorus on the counter-façade.

Some eighteenth-century paintings by G.B. Rossi adorn its interior. But the most important artistic evidence is the committed marble altar and the commons, also made of colored marble, elegantly decorated with angels.

The altarpiece is made of marble.

Connected to the church is a convent intended for Benedictine nuns as early as the 11th century and later passed to the Franciscan order.

In 2017, the Carisal Foundation launched a planning process geared toward the restoration, enhancement and re-functionalization of the former convent, with the aim of creating a new landmark promoting social, cultural and environmental activities for the community, and in particular, for young people (www.complessosanmichele.it).