As we reach the next legendary monastery on the “Sword of St. Michael,” we will examine another apparition of St. Michael along the sacred line of seven monasteries that stretches from Ireland to Israel.
Unlike the monasteries that we have already covered, this monastery is not in the middle of the sea. Instead, Sacra di San Michele is in the middle of the Alps in the Piedmont region of Italy that borders France.
–> Sacra di San Michele is featured in our latest comic book! Finnian Issue #4!
It is a sight to behold and is located on an ancient pilgrimage route between Mont St. Michel and Monte Gargano, two of the most important sites dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel.
The monastery at the peak of the mountain was founded around the year 983 by a hermit named St. Giovanni Vincenzo. He was a disciple of St. Romuald, who was a reformer of monasticism in Italy. He was especially inspired by an eremitical monasticism similar to that found in Egypt and Ireland. Romuald formulated a short rule based on this type of monasticism where he wrote, “Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms – never leave it.”
It is very likely St. Giovanni Vincenzo was propelled by the same desires of the Irish monks to seek out a “desert,” where he could devote his life to God, separated from the world.
According to legend, St. Giovanni Vincenzo founded the monastery at the request of St. Michael. The Archangel appeared to him several times and not only that, St. Michael helped transport the necessary building materials to the top of the mountain.
Besides that, little is known about the early origins of the monastery. It eventually became a primary point of devotion to St. Michael and as noted earlier, was an important pilgrimage stop, a half-way point, between Mont. St. Michel and Monte Gargano.
As the pilgrimage site grew in significance, various additions were added to the shrine.
According to the shrine’s official website, there are some interesting features.
From the entrance level the church is reached via a wide and steep grand staircase, which has been dated to the mid-twelfth century. After the first few steps, on the left is a pillar of over 18 meters that supports the floor of the church above; on the right there appears an outcrop of rock that is incorporated into the opposite wall. In the central niche several skeletons of monks were displayed until 1936, hence the name: Great Staircase of the Dead.
This “entrance hall” was once much used for the burial of distinguished men, abbots and worthies of the monastery. Some of the tombs were decorated with marble, others were plastered and painted: today there remain only five of these.
The Great Staircase of the Dead ends at the Portal of the Zodiac (1128-30), a Romanesque work carved by Master Nicolao, a famous architect and sculptor from Piacenza. It is so called because the jambs on the sides turned towards the staircase, are carved on the right with the twelve signs of the zodiac and on the left with the southern and northern constellations.
The shrine is also known as the inspiration for the novel The Name of the Rose by Italian author Umberto Eco.
–> Sacra di San Michele is featured in our latest comic book! Finnian Issue #4!
*Photo Credit: Elio Pallard – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
