St. Michael the Archangel, prince of the heavenly militia in the combat against Satan and his hosts, is depicted here clad in yellow-green armor with a broad red fluttering mantle, hovering in the air and holding a banner in his left hand. Below, two angels rescue two praying souls from the flames of purgatory. The vivid coloring, amplified rendering of the figures and accentuated dynamism of the scene would suggest the hand of a discreet painter of the Sicilian school active in the 18th century, stylistically referable to Giovanni Tuccari.
Certainly the altarpiece belonged to one of the side altars of the cathedral dedicated to the saint, as recorded in the Pastoral Visits, before all the canvases were replaced at the end of the 18th century.
Dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, however, there was a small church on Monte S. Angelo, the ruins of which were still seen by Archduke Louis Salvatore of Austria on his trip to the Aeolian Islands and where until the 18th century a feast in his honor was celebrated on May 8 and September 29.
Dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, however, there was a small church on Mount St. Angelo where twice a year, on May 8 and September 29, a feast in his honor was celebrated in the 18th century.
Next to the Virgin, in addition to the two Saints – well detailed – who gave their names to the two main seafaring areas of Lipari (Marina di San Giovanni and Marina di San Nicolò, today Marina corta and Marina lunga), it is possible to notice – in an attitude of veneration and portrayed in smaller size – the commissioner, “master” of the Confraternity of San Nicola.
