Monte Sant'Angelo

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Monte Sant'Angelo
coat of arms
Monte Sant'Angelo (Italy)
Monte Sant'Angelo
Country Italy
region Apulia
province Foggia  (FG)
Coordinates 41 ° 42 ′  N , 15 ° 58 ′  E Coordinates: 41 ° 42 ′ 0 ″  N , 15 ° 58 ′ 0 ″  E
height 796  m slm
surface 242 km²
Residents 11,969 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 49 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 71037
prefix 0884
ISTAT number 071033
Popular name montanari
Patron saint archangel Michael
Website Monte Sant'Angelo

Monte Sant'Angelo is an Italian city with 11,969 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the Apulia region ( Foggia province ). Monte Sant'Angelo is located around 15 km north of Manfredonia on the southern slopes of the Gargano .

Among the sights of the city are the pilgrimage church of S. Michele, the remains of the church of San Pietro and a Norman castle.

According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared to the shepherds in 492 at the site of today's Monte Sant'Angelo .

history

Monte Sant'Angelo was founded around the year 1000. From 1086-1105 made Monte Sant'Angelo the capital of a sprawling possession of the Normans , who early 11th century spread in Puglia and fiefs had received (for more details on the meaning of the Normans for the region: history of Puglia: The Norman kingdom in southern Italy ) .

In the 17th century, Monte Sant'Angelo became part of the Kingdom of Naples , to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century .

economy

Monte Sant'Angelo's economy is largely based on agriculture and livestock. Tourism also plays a modest role.

San Michele

Grotto Church of San Michele (UNESCO)
San Michele cave church inside (UNESCO)
The bell tower of San Michele

San Michele - the main church of Monte Sant'Angelo - is a grotto church - a type of church which the Normans particularly preferred in the newly conquered areas . What can be seen at the top of the mountain is only the octagonal bell tower of the church (1273/74) and the two-part entrance hall (1395). The church itself is inside the mountain. San Michele is a pilgrimage church dedicated to the Archangel Michael .

The archivolts inscription at the entrance says that whoever enters the grotto will be forgiven of all sins. In front of the hall is a portal with a bronze door from 1076 - the oldest of its kind in Puglia. Characteristic of these early bronze doors are the finely carved scenes, which were later to become raised reliefs.

The grotto is carved out of the rock and contains a worship cell in which a statue of the Archangel Michael is venerated. The veneration of the holy archangels in the Latin church , which was taken over from Eastern Rome in the 6th century , is said to have had its starting point here in the apparition of the archangel Michael on May 8, 492, i.e. only shortly after the final fall of the Roman Empire in Year 476. Following the example of this first sanctuary of the Archangel Michael, tradition has it that his veneration spread to northern France in Normandy , where in 708 an abbey also dedicated to the Archangel was built on Mont Saint-Michel .

San Michele on Monte Sant'Angelo is one of the oldest places of pilgrimage in the West and visited by numerous popes, including John Paul II on May 24, 1987.

Since June 2011, the church has been part of a group of building ensembles that was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List under the title The Lombards in Italy, Places of Power (568 to 774 AD) .

Castello Normanno, Svevo, Aragonese

The castle was built in the first half of the 9th century by the Bishop of Benevento , Orso I. The different architectural styles result from frequent changes of ownership. The Normans built the Torre dei Giganti , the Staufer King Frederick II used it as a residence for his lover, the Countess of Turin Bianca Lancia , the Angioviners used it as a state prison, while under the Aragonese rule it gained its old brilliance with the construction of the two round towers regained. In 1907 it was acquired by the city of Monte Sant'Angelo. From the balustrades on the intact surrounding wall you have a view over the old town to the Adriatic Sea. Inside, a permanent archaeological exhibition presents some finds from antiquity, other rooms are used for special exhibitions. In another part of the castle, the Gargano National Park has set up its Centro Visita : light and sound shows illuminate different aspects of the peninsula (flora and fauna, cultural and religious life).

Tomba di Rotari, San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore

Of interest is the Tomba di Rotari , a building from the 11th and later centuries with some architectural and art-historical features. To the right of the portal is the apse of the 12th century parish church of San Pietro, which collapsed in the 19th century.

Next to it, in the immediate vicinity, is the church of Santa Maria Maggiore from the 12th century.

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Monte Sant'Angelo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.