Church of San Michele Arcangelo, Romanesque church in San Vittorino, L'Aquila, Italy

The Church of San Michele Arcangelo stands beside the hamlet of San Vittorino, near the Roman site of Amiternum with its theatre and amphitheatre. It has no facade: entry is from the side, on the east. The interior is a Latin cross with a single nave; the apse keeps 13th-century frescoes of the blessing Christ with three angels, John the Baptist and Peter, and a Crucifixion. Two stairways flank the main altar, leading down to the crypt.

The church is first documented in 763 as ecclesia sancti Victorini, built over the tomb of Saint Victorinus, a bishop martyred under Nerva and buried here in the 5th century. Rebuilt in Romanesque style, it was reconsecrated to him on 24 July 1170 by Bishop Dodone of Rieti, as an inscription on the right nave wall records. Further remodelling followed in 1528; the 2009 earthquake damaged the building, and it reopened at the end of 2011 after restoration costing about 1,800,000 euros.

The name honors the Archangel Michael, reflecting its importance in local religious practice. Underground, the crypt passages decorated with scenes of Saint Victorinus's martyrdom show how the space served as a sacred memorial for believers.

The church stands beside the hamlet of San Vittorino, a short walk from the Amiternum archaeological area with its Roman theatre and amphitheatre. Entry is from the side, from the east, since the building has no facade. The catacombs are reached by a stairway beside the old church; the passages are narrow and the floor uneven. Restoration after the 2009 earthquake cost about 1,800,000 euros and took over two years, and the building reopened at the end of 2011.

The oldest monument of the basilica, the catacombs were declared a national monument in 1902. The entrance from the old church leads to a barrel-vaulted room holding the presumed tomb of Saint Victorinus, reassembled in the 1940 restorations, whose marble slabs name Bishop Quodvultdeus as its patron.