Church of San Michele in Borgo, borgo Stretto

Chiesa di San Michele in Borgo (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)

Built in 1016, the elegant façade is the result of works carried out between the 13th and 14th centuries and still shows similarities with the Buschetian style of the Cathedral, even if the trefoil arches of the three levels of walkable loggias and the niche with the Virgin by Lupo di Francesco give it a Gothic look. The interior with three naves shows a beautiful fresco of San Michele in the counter-façade (13th century) and traces of coeval frescoes on the walls. The marble crucifix of the first altar on the left is a fourteenth-century work by Nino Pisano, while at the second altar we find the Immaculate Conception by Matteo Rosselli (1627). On the opposite wall and on the main altar there are works by Aurelio Lomi, brother of Orazio Gentileschi and uncle of Artemisia. Unfortunately, the church suffered very serious damage during the Second World War.

History in a nutshell: founded in 1016 by the abbot Bono, was joined by the Gittatelli hospital in 1218, founded by Domenico Vernagalli. The complex belonged to the Benedictines, and then passed to the Camaldolese in 1782. The interior was completely restored in late Baroque style, with a ceiling with rosettes and octagons, but the bombings of the Second World War have erased all its traces. The 10th-century crypt is no longer accessible and still overrun with debris carried by the river during the 1966 flood.

Those strange writings: given the great attendance of churches in the past, it was not unusual for their façades to be adorned with posters, paintings and writings of all kinds. The façade of San Michele has some curious painted writings: W il Catone, W il Moro, 1597, 98… It is electoral propaganda, a playful support of some candidates for the office of Rector of the University at the end of the 16th century. Other writings of this kind can be found on the side of the church of San Pierino in Vinculis.