San Michele in Borgo is a church in Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

, Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

The church, together with monastery (which first belonged to the Benedictines, and, from the 12th century, the Camaldolese

Camaldolese

The Camaldolese monks and nuns are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century...

) was built in the late 10th to early 11th century outside the walls of the city, over an ancient temple dedicated to Mars

Mars (mythology)

Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...

. Both were restored several times in the following ages.

The façade is from the 14th century. The upper part has three order of typically Pisane Gothic loggias. There are three portals, also in Gothic style and withlunettes; the main one is surmounted by a tabernacle

Church tabernacle

A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....

 with "Madonna and Child" by Lupo di Francesco (the original is in the city's Museum of St Matthew).

The solemn interior, with a nave and two aisles, houses a Crucifix attributed to Nino Pisano

Nino Pisano

thumb|280px|"Euclid", panel from [[Giotto's Bell Tower]], now in the [[Museo dell'Opera del Duomo |Museo dell'Opera del Duomo]], [[Florence]].Nino Pisano thumb|280px|"Euclid", panel from [[Giotto's Bell Tower]], now in the [[Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)|Museo dell'Opera del Duomo]],...

 (14th century), paintings by Matteo Rosselli

Matteo Rosselli

Matteo Rosselli was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter-Maniera and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly-populated grand-manner historical paintings.-Biography:...

, Baccio Lomi, Aurelio Lomi

Aurelio Lomi

Aurelio Lomi was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and early-Baroque periods, active mainly in his native town of Pisa, Tuscany.He may have initially been trained by his father, Giovanni Battista Lomi, but soon he...

 and Giuseppe Melani

Giuseppe Melani

Giuseppe Melani was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active mainly in Pisa.He initially apprenticed with Camillo Gabrielli, and then became was a pupil of Ciro Ferri, who was a trainee of Pietro da Cortona. For the Pisa Cathedral, he painted a Death of San Ranieri. He also painted...

, as well as remains of frescoes from the 13th century. Under the pavement is the crypt, probably what remains of a former church.

External links

• Page about the church