Grotta di San Michele a Gualana

Useful Information

Location:	SP320, 23, 81037 Sessa Aurunca CE. located at SP320, 5.5 km west of Sessa Aurunca CE. Turn left on SP80, after 120 m turn left again, first building on the left. (41.228600, 13.866916)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	C. Ebanista (2007): L’utilizzo cultuale delle grotte campane nel medioevo in: Atti del I Convegno Regionale di Speleologia, Campania Speleologica, (a cura di) S. Prete, F. Maurano, Piedimonte Matese 2007, pp. 127-150. Open Archive A. M. Villucci (1986): Gli affreschi della grotta di San Michele di Gualana a Fasani di Sessa Aurunca Sessa Aurunca 1986. Maria Amodio, Carlo Ebanista (2008): Aree funerarie e luoghi di culto in rupe: le cavità artificiali campane tra tarda antichità e medioevo in: Atti VI Convegno Nazionale di Speleologia in Cavità Artificiali, Napoli, 30 maggio-2 giugno 2008 («Opera ipogea», 1/2 (2008), pp. 117-144 academia.edu
Address:	Grotta di San Michele a Gualana, Tel: +39-0
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1326	church of S. Angelo de Trabata mentioned in the rationes decimarum.
2008	entire pictorial decoration underwent restoration work.

Description

Grotta di San Michele a Gualana (Cave of Saint Michael in Gualana) is actually an underground church dedicated to San Michele and dug into a rock outcrop. It is located in a field in the countryside of Fasani, a small hamlet of Sessa Aurunca. Unfortunately the surrounding area is in agricultural use and so the cave was partly destroyed by the farmer. Also, the cliff above the cave crumbled over time and so the original floor is covered by probably one meter of debris. Nevertheless, there are three niches pictorial panels, dating to the 11th century. The first on the left depicts a single figure in a standing pose and is rectangular, depicting St. Maximus. The other two are larger, each featuring three figures. One is the Virgin in Prayer between Saints Thomas and Nicholas and Christ between St. Michael and St. Peter. All the painting are on concave surfaces, forming niches which are interpreted as apses of a chapel.

The most likely theory is that there once was a natural cave in the hillside, probably with an entrance in a small cliff. The cave was widened, the walls sculpted to create a small chapel which was dedicated to San Michele. During the 10th century or the mid-11th century the back wall was painted with frescoes. They were commissioned by a priest, as indicated by the votive inscription. This is a hint that the cavity did not belong to a monastic settlement, but rather represented the chapel of a rural community. In the Rationes Decimarum from 1326 the church of S. Angelo de Trabata is mentioned. Some guessed that this was probably this church.