OUR UNESCO HERITAGE SITES: MONTE S. ANGELO
In 2011, 15 years after the inclusion of Castel del Monte and Alberobello in Unesco’s list, the committe creates a new category named “Longobards in Italy: Places of Power“, a group of seven World Heritage sites connected to the influence this Germanic people, also called „Lombards“, had in our peninsula.
One of these places is in Apulia: we’re talking about St. Michael’s Sanctuary in Monte Sant’Angelo, in the area of Gargano: National Park of Gargano, the green lung of Puglia
Why is this temple so important? Because, they say, the Archangel appeared four times (three during the 5th century, one during the 17th), kicked the pagan oracle of Chalcas out of that grotto, pushed his small foot so hard into the rock that he left its shape and then
he said something in Latin that sounded like “Where rocks are open, human sins are forgiven“ and he also added „you don’t need to consecrate this place, I did it myself“.
Still today, thousands of people every year go there for pilgrimage and say their prayers to that winged soldier sent by God to save us from Lucifer’s temptations.
Very suggestive!