San Michele Archangel's Church - Matraia

First documentations: 984

History and architecture

The original church was built in the Middle Ages in the village of Coviglia and had the name of Saint Angel (known as Saint Michael, soldier angel of the lombard tradition). According to more recent documents, there were two churches: the one of Saint Michael (the present one) and the one of Coviglia (the ancient church that changed name from Saint Angel to Saint Martin). The two churches, with their different worshippers, had different evolutions since 1348 when the patrons of the Church of Saint Martin of Coviglia abandoned the church in favour of the one of Saint Michael. In 1957, after being deconsecrated for a long time, the little church was sold to a private.
The present church, probably built between 1071 and 1234, rises next to the old one (about 200 metres from it) but in an upper position. Initially, it depended to the Plover of Marlia, and than to that of Saint Pancrazio. During the centuries, it has been renewed many times: the façade was originally turned toward west, as the the other churches of that period; it was enlarged (in 1680), uplifted (in the XIX century) and covered in marble (in the XX century). Today the church has three aisles.

Works of art

In the interior we cand find two seventeenth-century altars, a wooden sculpture of the Virgin with Child (dated 1300) and a painting of Baccio Lomi.

Interesting is also the statue of Saint Michael archangel located over the main entrance. This statue was carved in 1957 and is made of a metallic alloy.