San Michele Arcangelo is a Roman Catholic church located on Largo San Gianuario, in front of the more imposing church of San Gianuario in the town of Marsico Nuovo.
The popularity of churches dedicated to the warrior angel was spread by the Lombards, and this and some documents attest to this church existing centuries before 1131, perhaps in the time of the Duchy of Benevento. The church at the site has undergone many reconstructions over the centuries. Many are due to damage by earthquakes, including one in 1700 cited by a plaque in the belltower.
The present facade was likely the original apse. The main portal in gothic-style dates to the 13th century or earlier, and is attributed to the Master Melchiorre da Montalbano.
The interior has a medieval stone baptismal font and an 18th-century painting on wood of the Archangel. The apse has remains of medieval frescoes showing Byzantine influence.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.