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The Church of Archangel St Michael in Montopoli di Sabina: real spears on the baptistery gate
The Church of San Michele Arcangelo, located in Via della Parrocchia no. 9 in the town of Montopoli di Sabina, stands upon the remains of an earlier 11th-century church. According to local tradition, it was originally built by the military garrisons stationed at the fortifications of Mount Tancia. The gabled façade, featuring an orange faux-brick curtain wall, dates back to 1913. The bell tower is from the 14th century, and is adorned with Gothic mullioned windows; its two bells are traditionally named Marta and Maria.
The interior and the courtyard
The first chapel on the left houses the baptismal font, dating to 1778, which is enclosed by a wrought-iron gate decorated with actual spearheads. These weapons were given over to the archpriest as a symbolic gesture renouncing all wars. In the external courtyard, a Roman epigraph (on a tombstone) is preserved, in which Q. Cossutius invokes the gods for the young girl Pia Emilia, who lived for only fifteen years.
The 15th-century chapel
A side passageway leads to a chapel in the ancient transept. It houses fragments of a frescoed Crucifixion and a 16th-century wooden statue of St Michael, salvaged from the original high altar. The apse features two 15th-century polychrome wooden statues depicting St Peter and St Paul. Also on display here is an 1802 painting, a copy of the celebrated St Michael by Guido Reni.
