Sant'Angelo in Palco

Enchanting

A beautiful structure, a pity its closure that has brought it into a state of abandonment mortifying for the artistic value it represents for the history of Nola and beyond.

The convent of Sant'Angelo in Palco, or of San Michele Arcangelo. It stands on a hill near the city of Nola and was founded by Raimondo Orsini, feudal lord of Nola and prince of Salerno. The construction was completed in about 1430 and given as a gift to the Friars Minor of the Observance. In the 17th century, the cult building was rebuilt by the Reformed Fathers. The Church has a single nave, on the left side there are five chapels while on the right side there are blind arches. The nave ends with a pointed arch beyond which there is the apse with a cross vault. The cloister dating back to the seventeenth century takes up the Franciscan architectural patterns of the fifteenth century, has a rectangular plan with frescoes representing scenes from the life of the saints, works from 1840. At the center of the cloister is the well covered with marble dating back to the Roman period. The bell tower has a square plan and has Gothic elements, such as pointed arch windows. In particular, in the refectory of the convent of the Friars Minor, it is possible to admire an extraordinary fresco depicting "the Last Supper" which made scholars speak so much, a work from 1503 painted by an anonymous artist, who has many similarities with Dan Brown's bestseller according to which in Leonardo da Vinci's upper room next to Jesus was not the figure of John the Evangelist but that of Mary Magdalene, considered by the writer to be the bride of Christ.

enchanted place, former Franciscan convent of the fourteenth century overlooking Nola. Sin is almost always closed to the public, open only on rare occasions

It is true that it has been closed to the public for two years. But thanks to the Meridies Association, on 21 September 2019, it was possible to visit it and take some pictures. I must say that inside is really beautiful, especially the Refettorio. I hope tomorrow we can restore its ancient use.

Sant’Angelo in Palco. The site, the result of the commission of Count Raimondo Orsini, collects the testimonies of Nola's valuable artistic past: starting from the beautiful church, with the majestic seventeenth-century ciborium, passing through the cloister, a place steeped in spirituality, reaching the sparkle of the Renaissance frescoes of the refectory; without forgetting, then, the library and its precious volumes.

The convent of S. Michele Arcangelo, commonly known as S. Angelo in Palco, located halfway up the hill of Cicala from where it dominates the whole city of Nola, was founded in 1400 by Raimondo Orsini, feudal lord of Nola and prince of Salerno. The Orsini wanted to erect it in honor of St. Michael the Archangel, in order to donate it to the order of the Franciscan friars. Worthy of note are the pronaos of the church, from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view that sweeps up to Naples and the Phlegraean fields and the high altar made of marble inlays with the ciborium considered among the oldest and best preserved in the Neapolitan area. The structure is beautiful, but it is always closed and in a state of complete abandonment. Such a pity!