Chiesa di San Pellegrino di Orsara di Puglia

Originally the entrance to the cave of San Michele opened on a steep slope, which was accessed only through a staircase carved into the rock. Later, in the Baroque period, the space in front of the entrance to the cave was enlarged and there was built the church dedicated to San Pellegrino, which now includes the entrance to the cave of San Michele.

The original church was built perhaps in 1527 and dedicated to San Pellegrino in 1643, when the archpriest Francesco Calvani obtained from the bishop of Troia the bone of the right thumb of the saint, whose body is preserved in the crypt of the cathedral of Foggia. The position on the edge of a cliff and the various earthquakes that occurred over the centuries led to the collapse of the building at the beginning of '800, which was rebuilt and acquired its present features in the '60s of '900.

The Church has a beautiful facade embellished by the bronze portal made in the late '60s by the Florentine sculptor Iorio Vivarelli, whose tiles tell biblical stories and miracles with protagonists San Michele and the Angels, including the appearance of St Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo and at Castel dell'Angelo in Rome, the Angel of the Lord who stops the hand of Abraham intent on sacrificing his son Isaac and the expulsion from the Eden of Adam and Eve. Above the portal is an ogival window containing a beautiful mosaic depicting the Christ Pantocrator. The interior is characterized by the presence of polychrome stained glass windows depicting theological virtues, the Holy Apostles and Saint Michael who defeats the Devil.