The Church of San Michele in Frangesto stands on the scenic street which leads from Monopoli to Selva di Fasano, in the Loggia di Pilato. Some scholars believe that the church was originally an ancient farmhouse, however the Bull of Pope Alexander III records it as being part of a convent built in the mid-12th century, on lands belonging to an Abbess. Its name derives from both St. Michael Archangel and the Bishop Michael who blessed it during his long episcopate between 1144 and 1176.
Built in the Apulian-Romanesque style, the church has three naves. Each has a barrel-vaulted ceiling with the addition of two elliptical domes to the central aisle. While the apses can be seen both inside and out, the domes are hidden in the double pitch of the roof. A balanced distribution of light is provided by the entrance portal, the two single lancet windows on the apses of the side-naves and a circular window in the arch of the main apse.
An arched portal, today bricked up, once opened on the north face of the church. Traces of painted plaster indicate that the walls were frescoed. The small rock church with its bell tower and the brightness of its white plaster is visually striking, seen against the surrounding unspoilt country.
Apulia Film Commission
Cineporti di Puglia/Bari — c/o Fiera del Levante - Lungomare Starita 1 — 70132 Bari
Phone: +39 080 9752900
Fax: +39 080 9147464
Email: email@apuliafilmcommission.it
