Church of San Michele Arcangelo – Sant’Angelo

Inside the Church of San Michele Arcangelo which is located within the community of Sant’Angelo. The first document that attests to the existence of a church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel dates back to 1081, although in all likelihood a church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel already existed some time earlier. Some sources even tell us of an entrance gate to the city of Senigallia with the name Porta Sant’Angelo. So it is not excluded that what was originally Porta Sant’Angelo, then later became a community of Sant’Angelo, a little detached from the city center, where the church dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo was later built.

It has undergone several renovations over the centuries, starting in the 16th century, where under Bishop Marco Vigerio II della Rovere it underwent a truly decisive and fundamental restoration, only to be restored again several times over the centuries, and the last renovation took place after 1930, following the devastating earthquake that struck all of Senigallia and its surrounding area.

Inside you can recognize artistic testimonies of a certain prestige and importance, starting from this crucifix on the right of the person entering, from the 17th century. Beneath which crucifix, however, is preserved a statue, as if inside one of a sarcophagus, which in reality a sarcophagus is not, a wooden statue representing Saint Peter Martyr, much venerated in these parts, while on the opposite wall there is a large statue of the Madonna and Child, known as the Madonna of the Rosary.

But certainly the most important artistic testimony is the altarpiece behind the main altar, depicting in the upper register the Madonna with Child and the angels around it, and below you can recognize, in the foreground, what for a long time was recognized as Saint Michael the Archangel on the right and Saint Sylvester on the left, perhaps San Silvestro due to the nearby presence of a small community with its church of San Silvestro.

Although there are some doubts about this, as there are doubts about the attribution, because, according to the still official version, this altarpiece appears to have been executed by one of the most important students of the Urbino painter Federico Barocci, namely Claudio Ridolfi, but this hypothesis is not accepted by everyone. Moreover, the chiaroscuro and the typology of the faces of the characters depicted has recently made some painters even think of those from the Caravaggio school, but moreover the studies are still ongoing.

Another important crucifix, also important for the community of Sant’Angelo itself, because it is carried in procession every year on Good Friday, is preserved inside the sacristy, on the right compared to, indeed, on the left compared to, the perspective of those entering this church.