The sound and the scent of the sea reach up there, at the highest point of Terra Murata, more than ninety meters high, where the sacred place rises from which the history of the entire village began.
Originally, there was only a small church, founded in 1026 in honor of Sant'Angelo. From that fulcrum, which two centuries later became a Benedictine monastery dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the town of Terra Casata gradually developed. The followers of San Benedetto remained until the end of the 15th century, when recurring Saracen raids drove them to leave the island forever. In one of those attacks, the ancient temple was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt even more magnificent than before by Cardinal Innico d'Avalos in 1561, who also provided for the fortification of the entire village, which has since taken the name of Terra Murata.
A first statue of the Archangel patron of Procida is placed on the secondary entrance of the church, whose main access is the Porta del Carmine. The building has a Latin cross and three naves. The chapels are all located on the left side aisle, while in the one on the right there are altars of the ancient noble families of the island. Among the chapels, the one dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo houses the venerated statue in silver and gold from 1727, created by the Avellino brothers based on a design by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro.
The central nave is embellished with a coffered ceiling in wood and gold. In the centre, the canvas by Luigi Garzi Saint Michael the Archangel defeats the rebel angels catches the eye. The Neapolitan earthenware and majolica floor is also valuable.
Even more famous, it is one of the four canvases on the wooden choir of the high altar, painted by Nicola Russo, a pupil of Luca Giordano. The work depicts San Michele Arcangelo protecting the island of Procida and refers to the most famous legend linked to the history of the church with a faithful reproduction of the village as it appeared then.
On the sides of the apse the two large chapels, to the left of the Blessed Sacrament and to the right of the Holy Spirit, where a Saracen anchor is displayed after the saving intervention of the Archangel to protect the Procidans.
The Museum
The museum area of the Abbey develops on the lower floors of the religious complex, spread over three levels.
After descending eighteen steps, you reach the first level which houses a permanent Nativity scene mainly made up of ancient shepherds in wood and terracotta from the 18th century Neapolitan school.
Adjacent to the Crib is the Chapel of the Madonna del Rosario with statues from the 19th century and the Virgin of the Rosary, a work from the 18th century who holds only one bead of the once complete crown in her hand.
Along the path that reaches the second level, there is the ancient and valuable Library. There is no trace of the texts from the Benedictine period and it can be deduced that when they left the island at the end of the 15th century, the monks took their archive and library with them.
Therefore, the Library of the Commendata Abbey was born in the mid-sixteenth century by Cardinal Innico d'Avalos and later by Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino. Among the eight thousand texts in the collection, many are noteworthy, including the oldest, which dates back to 1534.
Continuing along the route, you reach the Chapel of San Michele, which offers the evocative depiction of the Immaculate Conception, frescoed in the 15th century on the vaulted ceiling.
The chapel takes its name from an altar on which there is a statue of San Michele donated to the Abbey in 1811 by Procidans who emigrated to Palermo. Descending two flights of a staircase carved into the rock, you reach the Chapel of Sant'Alfonso, which once housed the Confraternity of the Addolorata, founded in 1733 by Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori and indicated with the double name of "Segreta" and “of the Reds”. In the Chapel of Sant'Alfonso, the wooden structure, which develops along the entire perimeter of the room, is remarkable. Here you can also admire a precious painted wooden organ, signed by the famous Domenico Antonio Rossi.On the altar of the chapel there is also a splendid Deposition of Christ from 1746, by Domenico Guarino.
In that space, a highly original element is represented by three finely carved coffins, used to set up what could be considered a funeral home. The last level is occupied by the ossuary, the first burial site on the island. It was accessed through some hatches, which are still visible today. There a particular treatment was reserved for the corpses: they were placed to "drain" and this operation, allowing the liquids of decomposition to flow out, allowed the drying of the corpse. In the mummification ambulatory it is still possible to see shrouded human remains. Inside the ossuary there is also the mass grave, a huge excavation in the shape of a wineskin, which was finally buried in 1968.
