The Hermitage of San Michele Arcangelo stands in a surreal atmosphere, clinging to the slopes of Mount Altino, an imposing member of the Aurunci mountain range. Its elevated position at 1220 meters above sea level, in Maranola, a hamlet of Formia, is like a secret guarded by the horizon. This sanctuary seems to emerge directly from the rock, on a vertiginous ridge, on the itinerary that leads from the Sella Sola to the Redentore peak.
The history of the Hermitage of San Michele Arcangelo
The origin of the sanctuary dates back to 830, distant times documented even in the Codex Diplomaticus Cajetanus. However, the visible face of the hermitage is that of the late 19th century, a work of neo-Gothic style that stands out like a dream against the horizon. It was 1893, when Archbishop Francesco Niola, during a pastoral visit to Mount Altino, saw the potential of this rocky outcrop and made it a challenge. The Gothic facade stands out imposingly, a renovation that was also a necessity to avoid the damage caused by natural events that had affected the previous building.
The architect Silvio Forte di Trivio was the master behind this rebirth. Art and nature merged, and from the rough stone arose a church twelve meters long, ten spacious and seven high, a canvas set in the rock. A look inside reveals a statue of St. Michael, a figure that appears to be in communion with its surroundings.
The Tale of the People
The legend of how the hermitage found his home is engraved in local folklore. It is said that the very statue of San Michele indicated the place where he wished to stay. After a brief stay in a cave along the coast of Gianola, shocked by the unsacred language of the sailors of the time. The statue migrated towards Monte Sant’Angelo, in the confines of Spigno Saturnia. Here too, facing the sea, the statue scrutinized the sailors, until it decided to embrace Monte Altino, a refuge to the west of the rock.
The people of Spigno tried several times to bring the statue back to their lands, but in a miraculous way, it returned to that same location, a divine choice in an earthly context. Thus, the chapel arose, a testimony of devotion to San Michele Arcangelo, the guardian of the mountains and the seas.
Foto by the video of Josef Diecimila.
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