San Michele is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on Via della Rovere, in

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

Province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...

, region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy.

History

This church or oratory was erected by the Confraternity of San Michele, also called dei Nobili (aristocracy), which was granted in the 16th century this land next to the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

cemetery. The nave is octagonal in shape and has a cupola frescoed starting in 1597 by Giovanni Antonio Cassano. The frescoes depict the ''Stories of the Archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel''. The frescoes are ringed with grotesque decorations. In 1601, the interior had stucco decoration. The church also has a series of canvases depicting the ''Annunciation'', the ''Announcement to the Shepherds'', a ''Nativity'', ''St Michael Archangel'', the ''Madonna of the Assumption with St Francis and a Certosini'', and ''Repose in Egypt'' are attributed (before 1614) to Giovanni Romano and

Guglielmo Caccia Guglielmo Caccia called il Moncalvo (9 May 15681625) was an Italian painter of sacred subjects in a Mannerism, Mannerist style. Biography He was born in Montabone near Acqui Terme, Acqui. He is said to have been a pupil of Lorenzo Sabbatini. He s ...

(Il Moncalvo). The ''Dream of St Joseph'' (1627) was painted by Guglielmo Crosio.Comune of Casale Monferrato
Tourism entry.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Casale Monferrato 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Piedmont Octagonal churches in Italy {{Italy-RC-church-stub