SHARRYLAND
Where is
What it is and where it is
Nestled in the rock on the slopes of Mount Altino in the Aurunci Mountains is the Hermitage of St. Michael the Archangel, a small church with a small bell tower, and a facade embedded in the rock, adorned with a rose window above the entrance door. The interior is a twelve-meter-long, ten-meter-wide, and seven-meter-high space carved into the mound. On the back wall, a niche also carved into the rock houses a statue of St. Michael. It is a mystical place to be reached via an evocative path, which leads to the top of the Redeemer, on an overhanging ridge 1220 meters above sea level.
Why it is special
It is special to us because it is one of the places in our area that blend together nature, tradition and spirituality. Think about it: the area around it is rich in spring water, which percolates just about everywhere from the rocky vault of the hermitage. The inner walls serve as a spring, and the very cold water is collected in some masonry basins. Outside there is a small one before the sanctuary and a larger one at the back, used by livestock.
Not to be missed
The small church in summer holds the statue of St. Michael the Archangel, an object of heartfelt veneration by residents of the surrounding area. It is carried here by the faithful from the church of the Annunziata in Maranola in a procession on the last Sunday in June, and is brought back to the church in the village on September 29, the day St. Michael is celebrated. The religious rite, accompanied by the sound of typical musical instruments, features the opportunity to try local products related to sheep farming such as bread and quagliata (curdled milk cheese).
A bit of history
This rock sanctuary has a very old tradition, probably dating back to 830. However, the stone façade, which closes a natural cavity, was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style at the end of the 19th century, exactly in 1893, at the behest of Archbishop Francesco Niola and designed by engineer Silvio Forte of Trivio, another hamlet of Formia located under Mount Redeemer.
Curiosity
According to a folk tale, it was the statue of St. Michael the Archangel that indicated where the chapel should have been built for his veneration. Originally, in fact, it had been placed in a cave on the shoreline of Gianola (a hamlet of Formia), but the story goes that the statue, offended by the unchristian language of the sailors of the time, moved to Mount Altino, in a hollow facing West, with the intention of no longer having the area of Gianola and its inhabitants in front of it.
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