The Cave of Saint Michael the Archangel is a natural cavity located on the western slope of Mount Raione in the municipality of Olevano sul Tusciano, in the province of Salerno. Inside, there is a religious complex dating back to the 9th-10th century.
The entrance to the cavity is located on a limestone ridge of the mountain, close to the Tusciano River. It can be reached via two trails: one starting from the Ariano district and the other from the Salitto district. The two trails merge shortly before the cave, ending with a staircase.
The uniqueness of the site lies in the presence of a complex religious structure of particular historical significance, consisting of five notable buildings. These include a martyrion, a single-nave basilica with frescoes from the Lombard period, two votive shrines with a courtyard, a church, and an oratory
The inhabitants of this makeshift, unhealthy, and overcrowded refuge did not hesitate to protect even British soldiers in distress beyond the front line. This is recounted in his memoir Esprit de Corps by Scottish judge W. A. Elliot, who was then a young soldier in the Fifth Army
“A human murmur arose above the noise of the river, from the entrance to numerous caves, from under overhanging rocks and from hundreds of bivouacs – for here most of the inhabitants of Battipaglia had apparently taken refuge from the recent Allied bombing which had razed most of their town to rubble. Many of them sat delousing their children in front of the cave entrances. No bombs had fallen as yet in the gorge itself but the refugees still lived in caves just in case. We were told by our guide that the labyrinth inthe grotto of San Michele on the cliff face opposite (a former placeof pilgrimage) contained over s00 people.”
