MUNICIPALITY: Ravello
NAME: Church of St. Michael the Archangelo
LOCATION: Torello
DESCRIPTION: Already existing in 1297, the structure features an exonarthex consisting of three arches supported by two columns.
The interior is divided into three naves on columns, with apses in all naves, barrel-vaulted roofing on the central one, and cross-vaulted on the side ones.
On the marble altar, a canvas reproduces the titular archangel of the church and comes, according to historiographers, from the no longer existing Holy Trinity monastery (Monastero della SS. Trinità).
The exterior roof is double-pitched; the multistory bell tower, to the right of the church, ends with a spire.
SEE, VISIT, FIND: Open during celebrations or by contacting the pastor of the Sanctuary of Saints Cosma and Damiano.
FRUITION DATA: None
OPPORTUNITIES: One could present the structures with exterior panels, so the church is always usable for visitors. Similar evidence, often little known, would be better enhanced by a tour itinerary (possibly guided) dedicated to the religious architecture of Ravello.
BIBLIOGRAFIA: FULCHIGNONI G., Ravello. Le cento chiese, Amalfi 2001
IMPERATO G., Ravello nella storia civile e religiosa,Cava d. T. 1990
MANSI L., Ravello sacra-monumentale, Ravello 1887
“The crossroads to the coast that ignites in September.”
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel is located in an extremely unique landscape setting. The building is located in the medieval village of Torello, in an extremely strategic position. From the Church it is possible, in fact, to keep an eye on the town of nearby Minori, the coastal fraction of Marmorata, the former maritime dock of the Duchy, and the central nucleus of Ravello. Precisely its intermediate position makes the building an object of worship not only by the community of Ravello and Torello, but also by the neighboring villagers.
From documentary sources, the structure appears to have existed since 1297. It consists of an atrium with three round arches, which precede the inner hall, divided into three naves, with cross vaults on the side naves and barrel vaults on the central one. On the altar is a canvas representing St. Michael the Archangel, which, according to some scholars, came from the former Holy Trinity monastery.
The church is flanked by a multi-story bell tower of Arab-Sicilian style.
On the occasion of the celebration of Maria Santissima Addolorata (the third Sunday in September), the fraction “catches fire” with a figurative fire represented through a play of lights, colors, and fireworks that involves the entire town, in order to commemorate the expulsion of the Pisans from the city.
