ABSTRACT
This sixth chapter considers the early twelfth-century representation of the archangel Saint Michael in a micro-ciborium that was sculpted over the portal of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro in Pavia as yet another variation of Saint Ambrose's porta coeli. Pavia and Milan were neighboring rivals for centuries, and the angelic portrayal of Michael as patron saint and protector of Pavia is viewed as a sign of Pavese importance as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Since Milan and Pavia were frequently at war with each other, Michael's protection was sought during liturgical processions of rogation. As the “angel of peace,” Michael was also invoked liturgically during church consecration, when the exterior and interior of God's House were ritually purified. Michael's spiritual presence under a micro-architectural ciborium on the exterior portal at San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro demonstrates that the porta coeli on earth and in heaven were simultaneously protected by the intercessory angel.
