The original collegiate church of St Michael Archangel in Vico nel Lazio dates back to the Millennium and is quoted in the biography of San Domenico da Sora.
St. Michael the Archangel was very revered in the Byzantine period for his appearances in France, Rome and Puglia.
The current church was rebuilt in 1581 and has a special bell tower ending with a design made with iron work. In 1800 the interior was transformed into three naves by connecting the side chapels.
The central nave ends with a 18th-century wooden choir. Inside the altar lies the body of San Prospero, the saint who brings rain, and above the altar an altarpiece representing the Madonna on the throne with Child between Saints.
The vaulted ceiling is frescoed by Gagliardi and Monacelli, and above the entrance there is a choir with a 1700 organ made by the Spadari family of Affile.
Chapel of the Holy Spirit
At the end of the left nave there is the Chapel of the Relics or the Holy Spirit which contains a precious Byzantine altarpiece of the twelfth century coming from Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
It was brought to Vico by Cardinal Nardini who kept it in his home for a long time and it was then donated by the family to the church. A part of the altarpiece is in a museum in London.
Above this altar there are carved candlesticks from the barbarian time, while on its sides there are two splendid tortilla columns of the sixteenth century, an olive wood cross completely covered with mother of pearl and the silvery bust of St. George with the initials I (Inclita) M (Martyr) G (George) P (Patron) carved and dated 1716.
They complete the antique reliquary collection.
On the altar of the chapel lies an altarpiece, a canvas oil painting depicting the SS Trinity made by Cavalier d'Arpino at the end of the 16th century.
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