In the late Roman/early Medieval time the young Christian religion struggled against pagan cults all over Europe. God sent his archangel St. Michael to Europe, especially southern Italy, to appear in front of people which were easy to influence. Preferably inside a cave. We are not sure which one was the cave fan, but we guess it was St. Michael.
The result of this strange behaviour is a huge amount of caves named after archangel St. Michael. And two islands too, by the way, both called St Michails Mountain. One is Mont St. Michel at the coast of Normandy in France and one is St. Michaels Mount in Cornwall. Both areas are composed of insoluble rock, so we guess there were no caves at hand.
The explanation, why St. Michael is related to caves, is actually a legend. Tradition wants the archangel winning on Lucifer, the devil, who was sent away from the heaven to be confined in the inside recesses of the earth.
There are so many caves dedicated to him, we thought we should make a page to list all of them. We were impressed that there were a few outside southern Italy too.
Cave Church | Location | Country |
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Balsorano, L'Aquila, Abbruzzo | Italy |
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Pescocostanzo, L'Aquila, Abbruzzo | Italy |
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near Sulmona, L'Aquila, Abbruzzo | Italy |
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Bominaco, L'Aquila, Abbruzzo | Italy |
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San Vittorino, L'Aquila, Abbruzzo | Italy |
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Abbruzzo | Italy |
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Lama dei Peligni, Abbruzzo | Italy |
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Palombaro (Ch), Abbruzzo | Italy |
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Campagna (SA), Campania | Italy |
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Sant'Angelo a Fasanella, Campania | Italy |
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Faicchio (BN), Campania | Italy |
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Olevano, north of Eboli, east of Salerno, Campania. | Italy |
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Raviscanina (CE), Campania | Italy |
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Pertosa, Salerno, Campania. | Italy |
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Guardia Sanframondi, Campania. | Italy |
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Cassano Allo Ionio, Calabria | Italy |
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Sant'Angelo in Grotte, Santa Maria del Molise, Province of Isernia, Molise | Italy |
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Monte d'Elio, San Nicandro Garganico, Gargano, Puglia | Italy |
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Minervino Murge, Puglia | Italy |
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Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano, Puglia | Italy |
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Cagnano Varano, Gargano, Puglia. | Italy |
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Gravina in Puglia (BA), Puglia. | Italy |
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Ceglie Messapica, Puglia | Italy |
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Monte San Giovanni in Sabina, Lazio | Italy |
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Radozda, Struga region, western shore of Lake Ohrid. | Macedonia |
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Gibraltar, Nature Reserve Upper Rock | Great Britain |
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Near Skien, Telemark | Norway |