I would visit only three parts of this interesting WHS till now [Nos.1-2 already described by others, but No.3 not yet] but I want to explore most of the rest in the future.

(1) Relatively big church of S Salvadore in Spoleto with surprisingly preserved stucco on the main façade and re-used ancient columns, spolia, inside, (2) in contrast very small but nicely elaborated Tempietto in Clituno (till now my favorite component of this WHS), and…

(3) Santuario di San Michele Archangelo in Monte Sant`Angelo as one of the most important pilgrim sites in Europe.

I had big expectation towards the Sanctuary during my visit of the promontory of Gargano in autumn 2018, but it was rather disappoint. We explored the parts of Gargano by foot, and I really liked that, especially (i) the broad valley of Mattinata entirely covered by ancient olive groves, (ii) Foresta Umbra with its beech forests, (iii) my favorite Monte Sacro with the ruins of SS Trinita, and (iv) beautiful town of Vieste.

So, we did a day trip from our camp in the forest on the hill just opposite to the north from Monte S`Angelo. We descended to the deep of beautiful valley and climbed the steep slope with cows enjoying their poor pastures below the Sanctuary, which we approached from the backside. From this side, it looked like the treasury of a national bank with all the high fences and cameras above the austere asphalt road. So, my romantic visions, that Michael the Archangel is flying above the valley, and then lands on the limestone rock and enters the cave, disappeared quickly.

The town unfortunately turned to a cheap tourist trap, but the old parts are not so bad at all. We (me & friend with her 3 kids) went for a lunch to a restaurant and it was one of the strangest culinary experience in Italy at all. The restaurant staff seemed to be under drugs, the food was mediocre and terribly overpriced.

From the backside of the Sanctuary we had to do a big loop around to approach the main entrance (PHOTO of the entrance from the side). It consists of octagonal tower from 13th Century (somehow similar to nearby Castel del Monte) and rectangular courtyard with doubled gothic gate - reshaped substantially in 19th Century. Trough the gate, one can enter the labyrinth of staircases, corridors and sanctuaries (for free) that has been changing through the centuries, and I could not see anything directly from the times of Longobards The walls of the tunnel are covered by numerous graffiti and signs from the pilgrims. There is also the museum with artifacts (for 5 EUR and audio-guide for 3 EUR), but I refused to enter, and headed to the most sacred space – the cave where St Michael descent from Heaven and left his footprint on the rock.

To conclude, there is almost nothing from the Longobards art and architecture inside. In the nomination text, the importance of the Sanctuary is justified by the fact the Lombards and later also Normans made this site known all over the Europe (see for example Mont San Michelle in Normandy), that is all correct and the inclusion of this to WHS is justified. While the cave itself is very interesting and important, my overall experience of Monte Sant`Angelo was questionable.