On the summit of Mount Pirchiriano, like an ancient guardian protecting the valley, stands the marvellous Saint Michael’s Abbey. It is an ancient and admirable place of faith, towering 962 metres above sea level, almost seems to reach towards the sky: it can only be accessed by a steep climb. The ascent is a metaphorical…
On August 6, 1909, archaeologists Francesco Samarelli and Angelo Mosso were going to Bisceglie, in the narrow strip of Apulia among the gentle slopes of the Murge and plunges into the warm embrace of the Adriatic Sea. They had received news from a group of local farmers: some large stone slabs had emerged from the…
A sword stroke resounds in the air; as if driven by tongues of unquenchable fire, it shakes the powers of heaven. The wings of Archangel Michael open mightily, his loose hair is shaken by an imperious quiver. Terrible in his gait, he hurls himself at the enemy with a battle cry: “Mīkā’el, who is like…
Remnants of ancient walls covered by brambles and shrubs, and then the cliff overhanging the Nera River. What could be beyond those crumbling stones of the monastery? What secrets did the coenoby of san Domenico, now partly abandoned and buried by the cowardly bombardments of the war, still conceal, and which ones Narni underground? A…
A hillock stands close to the city walls, and on it there is a sacred building that reflects the harmony of the cosmos. The temple of St. Michael the Archangel in Perugia is circular, as symbol of the perfection of all creation, but also image and anticipation of the heavenly Jerusalem. There is an eschatological…
The Chapel of the Souls in Purgatory once stood outside the city walls of Tortora [1]. An unbuilt place beyond the inhabited area, it also marked the metaphysical boundary of the world of the living, as testified by its use for funerary purposes. The ancient location of the church, later incorporated by the expansion of…