The church for San Michele on the site previously occupied by the church for the swallows
The Church of San Michele Arcangelo is located on the tuff plateau of the medieval village of Cerveteri, but it is not in the area enclosed by the 13th-century crenellated walls. The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was founded at the end of the 13th century, when the Augustinian community, which had taken over from the Benedictines in the convent of San Michele “sub ripam iuxta Cerveterem”, abandoned the latter convent because it was in disrepair, and settled on a hill just above the town of Cerveteri.
The Augustinian monks probably chose this place to build their convent because it was near an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle. Initially the structure was dedicated to Santa Maria “de Arudinientis” (of the swallows), it took its current name in the 17th century, when it was rebuilt in a Renaissance style, in the way we can still admire it today.
The convent has a garden with a cloister on one side. Worthy of note is the bell tower, which has two bells, one of which probably comes from the ancient convent “sub ripam” bearing the imprints of San Michele. The structure, preceded by a simple façade, has a single nave inside, covered by a barrel vault. The influence of the Augustinian order is evident in the church due to the presence of paintings with Sant'Agostino and Santa Monica.
