Abbazie e Santuari in Basilicata

A town of great interest for its history and landscape, Montescaglioso hosts the splendid 7th-century Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo, considered one of the most significant monuments in Basilicata. Spread across three floors, with the lower level consisting of rock-hewn cellars, the building rises around the cloister. On the upper floor, the Abbey is covered in frescoes, dating from the 16th to the 17th century, including the cycle of paintings that decorate the library, depicting saints, philosophers and allegorical figures attributed to Girolamo Todisco. Part of the sculptures of the cloisters and the church were made by Altobello and Aurelio Persio. The church, covered in early 18th-century stuccoes, consists of a single large hall, with four frescoed chapels on each side and a dome bearing the emblem of the monastic congregation “Congregazione Monastica Cassinese”.