Chiesa di San Michele
The Church of St. Michael is one of the most significant examples of Baroque in Sardinia. Dedicated to the patron Saint of the city, is located in the historical center, in Via Carlo Alberto. The first news of a church dedicated to St. Michael dates back to the fourteenth century and are the work of the notary Fuyani, who brought it back on the map. In 1503 it becomes "Cathedral pro tempore", pending the completion of the Cathedral of St. Mary. It was rebuilt in its present form since 1612, to be completed by the Society of Jesus, designed by Domenico Spotorno, who also built the adjoining college. The facade has a base of square blocks of sandstone; on wooden door stand two marble statues representing the Annunciation and the Holy Spirit. The interior has a nave covered by a barrel vault, divided into transverse arches resting on Corinthian columns, and has six chapels (with works more valuable: "Madonna of the Arrow", "St. Ignatius of Loyola", "St. Francis Xavier", "Immaculate Virgin"). Archangel Michael is depicted on the altarpiece and on a large wooden statue; always on the main altar is a crucifix of eighteenth-century Spanish school. The dome of the Church is one of the symbols of Alghero: octagonal, set on a high drum supported by plumes, has a lantern. In 1950 it was externally coated with polychrome tiles made from a design by Antonio Simon Mossa and Filippo Figari.
