The Cave of San Michele Arcangelo is a place of naturalistic and religious interest, located in Tufo, at the gates of the Irpinia village.
An evocative natural cavity, of paleo-Christian origin and discovered in the second half of the 16th century, it was named after the patron saint of the local community, by virtue of a cult which was probably already rooted in the times of the Lombards, following their conversion to Christianity. The consecration of the cave took place officially thanks to read more
The Cave of San Michele Arcangelo is a place of naturalistic and religious interest, located in Tufo, at the gates of the Irpinia village.
An evocative natural cavity, of paleo-Christian origin and discovered in the second half of the 16th century, it was named after the patron saint of the local community, by virtue of a cult which was probably already rooted in the times of the Lombards, following their conversion to Christianity. The consecration of the cave took place officially thanks to Cardinal Orsini and it became, for the faithful, a mystical, intimate and salvific place: the inhabitants of Tufo and the neighboring territories, the sick and the oppressed flocked there, in fact, in order to request, through the intercession of the Archangel, thanks for protection and healing.
Today, the cavity, which branches out for more than 50 metres, is flanked, to the left of the entrance, by a fresco of the Archangel Michael and, on the rear side, by a smaller cave from which spring water gushes. . Recently, following some restoration work, a new environment has emerged – beyond the closing vault of the cave – and various frescoes that contribute to the suggestiveness of the place. Finally, inside it is kept the statue of the Patron Saint: a rare example of sculpture on polychrome stone, placed on an altar and, still today, venerated with devotion by the Tufa community.
Among the oldest religious sites in Irpinia, the Grotta di San Michele Arcangelo is part of the Sacred Paths of the Jubilee. read less
