Orsara di Puglia - Abbazia St. Angelo / Grotta St. Michele

Orsara di Puglia is a small town, that was once named after the many bears, that lived in the near mountains. That was probably still, when the first monks established a small monastery here within the 8th century, as locals tell. The abbey existed for sure in the 11th century and was connected to a natural cave, that (like in Monte Sant'Angelo) was a sanctury - and a place of pilgrimage. The abbey´s church is from the 12th century and has this great dome.