What to see · Aprilia

More places of interest

• Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo

  The church of San Michele Arcangelo, since 1952 also dedicated to Saint Maria Goretti, is one of the main churches of Aprilia; on its forecourt stands the statue of the city's patron saint, Saint Michael the Archangel.

  What to see

  The church was one of the first buildings put up in the city and was partly destroyed during the last world conflict. In 1952 the dedication to Saint Maria Goretti was added to the original dedication to Saint Michael. Every 29 September the feast of the patron saint, Saint Michael the Archangel, is held.

  The statue, of bronze and about three metres high, stands on a cylindrical travertine pedestal and is the work of the sculptor Venanzo Crocetti (1913-2003), who made it in 1936 for the newly founded city. The youthful face has the serious, calm look of one who has accomplished his mission; the sturdy body expresses the vigour of the Roman soldier, with muscled armour of Greek derivation, the leather strips called pteruges over the tunic, the sandals called caliga and a sword with a cruciform hilt. In his left hand the saint grips the ropes holding up the severed head of the defeated dragon, lying at his feet. On the belt stands out the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the earthly paradise, in a posture recalling Masaccio; on the pedestal, images of life in the fields through the seasons.

  Visiting

  The church and the statue are in the urban centre of Aprilia. The sources consulted give no opening hours or visiting arrangements for the church: check with the parish.

  Our editors' tip

  On the statue, according to the sources, the wounds of the battle between Germans and Allies during the last world conflict are still visible: a piece of the dragon's tail was missing, hit by fragments and bullets, and the holes were kept for many years. After a conservation restoration in 1991 the sculptor, dissatisfied, in 1995 found the model in his studio and remade the sculpture without the historiated band; while preparing the work he had fallen from the ladder he was working on and had saved himself by clinging to the saint's wings.

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