The church of San Michele, in Casale Monferrato, is also called the church of the Nobles: it is the seat of a confraternity and of an old oratory, and still belongs to the local noble families. It stands near Palazzo Treville and the cathedral: at the beginning of the sixteenth century a part of the cathedral's cemetery was granted to the confraternity, so that it could build its own place of worship there.
What to see
The building has an octagonal plan and is covered by a dome. It is entirely frescoed by Giorgio Alberini, while the decorations of the dome are by Giovanni Antonio Cassano of Pavia and date from 1597. They tell the stories of the three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and each scene is separated from its neighbours by masks and grotesques.
In the niches of the walls are six canvases by Moncalvo, that is, Guglielmo Caccia: the Annunciation, the Annunciation to the Shepherds, the Nativity, St Michael the Archangel, the Madonna of the Assumption with St Francis and a Carthusian monk, the Rest in Egypt. A last picture, the Dream of St Joseph, is from 1627 and was painted by Guglielmo Crosio.
Visiting
The church is privately owned and the seat of a confraternity: opening days and arrangements should be checked before going.
Our editors' tip
Of the St Michael the Archangel painted by Moncalvo the preparatory drawing is also known: it is not here but in Turin, kept at the Biblioteca Reale. Besides the frescoes and the canvases, since 1601 the interior has also had a stucco decoration.
