Eremo di San Michele di Montenero

Useful Information

Location:	84022 Campagna SA. Campagna, north of Puglietta. (40.6933242, 15.1481749)
Open:	Only with reservation. [2024]
Fee:	yes. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave. Cave Church St. Michael Caves
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	A=1,110 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	J. Ares, J. Lara, D. Lizcano, M. A. Martínez (2017): Who Discovered the Binary System and Arithmetic? Did Leibniz Plagiarize Caramuel? Science and Engineering Ethics, Volume 24, pages 173–188. DOI pdf
Address:	Città di Campagna, Cell: +39-333-89-11-710, Cell: +39-392-36-75-708. E-mail:
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

1630	chapel restored and expanded.
1672	stone cross placed in the chapel.
1748	stone cross with a column erected and staircase to the entrance built.

Description

The Eremo di San Michele (Hermitage of St Michael) is a small Benedictine monastery built into an overhanging cliff of the Monti Picentini. As there are so many San Micheles in Italy, this one is often named Eremo di San Michele di Montenero or Eremo di San Michele di Campagna. It is far from roads, the only way to reach it is by hiking, for example, from Puglietta, which is actually a part of Campagna. The hermitage is located at 1,110 m asl, so it is quite an ascent from the 400 m asl high village. There are guided tours offered by trekking companies. The typical description is: 18 km walk, 6-hour walk, elevation gain 630 m, hiking for experts.

This cave originally belonged to the Devil. Then, one morning in May in the early 10th century, Saint Michael dressed as a shepherd appeared to the Devil and told him he wanted to visit the cave and every place on the mountain. Before leaving, however, he arranged four stones on the ground to form a cross. The Devil, at the sight of this symbol, let out heart-rending screams and ran away to Lauropiano, leaving the traces of his claws in the rock. Saint Michael took possession of the cave and, wanting to make himself known to a cowherd from Puglietta, arranged for one of his bulls to enter it. The shepherd laboriously climbed up to get it back, but before reaching the place where the altar was later built, he saw a young man wrapped in a shining light. Returning to Puglietta, the man told everything to the ecclesiastical authorities. Soon the news of the apparition of Saint Michael spread everywhere, and the cave became the destination of frequent pilgrimages.

The legend of the apparition of Saint Michael spread during the 10th century, and numerous people came to the cave to live an ascetic life. The church was erected in the 10th century and renovated and expanded in the 17th century. The hermits were buried under the church, the last one, which lived here, was Giovanni Spagnuolo.

There is also another version, which tells the story of Sant'Angelo di Furano, which was destroyed by Longobard attacks around 1240. The inhabitants fled to this cave led by the local nobleman, Paolo Carfagnio. They built the church and some rooms for living and dedicated it to San Michele, because he had been the patron of their village.

Another story about this place is about Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (*1646–✝1716) who came here to find tranquility. He was from Spain but traveled all over Europe and was appointed bishop of this small diocese from 1658 to 1673 by the Pope Alexander. Here he wrote the book Mathesis Biceps, which contained some original contributions to the field of mathematics. His work was so outstanding, 200 years ahead of time, that he was not understood by his contemporaries. For example, he made a reasoned study on non-decimal counts, thus making a significant contribution to the development of the binary numeral system. Our modern computers are based on the binary system. This book is easily accessible on the web, there are several digitized versions available, unfortunately it is written in Latin.

But back to the cave church. Access to the church was only possible via a rope ladder or by climbing among the rocks during the first centuries. Quite impressive how Saint Michael arranged for a bull to enter it. When the Olivetan prelate Belbuono gave the entire structure in concession to the Cathedral Chapter institution it was modernized. The stone staircase we can see today built to make the site accessible. They preserved the site since then.

The site is a Catholic Church, which is generally open to the public. But as it is uninhabited, it is normally closed, primarily to protect it from vandalism. In other words, you should definitely book some kind of trekking tour because such tours normally organize access to the site. There are only a few visits per year organized by Città di Campagna, Ulyxes or others. Check the internet or contact the municipality for more info. It’s definitely a good idea to organize entering the site before the 3-hour hike. However, the site is quite impressive from the outside.