Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel (Flight of the Angel)

The oldest tradition of Rutino

Every second Sunday of May, the municipality of Rutino, a village of just over seven hundred inhabitants perched at 371 meters in the heart of the Cilento region in the province of Salerno (Campania), comes to a standstill for the most heartfelt celebration of the year: the solemn festivities in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel, the town's patron saint. It is the event that brings residents, emigrants returning for the occasion, and visitors from all over Cilento to the square, all with their eyes turned upward.

The Flight of the Angel: a child suspended in the void

The heart of the day is the Sacred Performance known as the "Flight of the Angel", which takes place in the square in front of the mother church, traditionally around 1:00 PM. A local child, chosen each year and secured to a pulley, glides through the sky above the square, suspended by a sturdy rope stretched between two structures, while the Devils appear on the stage set up below him.

The performance unfolds in two acts. In the first, the Angel warns the demonic figures and accepts the challenge to a duel; in the second, Saint Michael, armed with a sword, confronts and defeats the Devil in single combat, then ascends back toward the sky while singing a hymn to God, accompanied by singing, church bells, the brass band, and the crowd's applause. The Angel's return to the Almighty closes the scene, and the procession can resume its path.

A text that has remained unchanged for centuries

According to local tradition, the dialogue between the Angel and the Devil was written centuries ago by a local from Rutino and has never undergone any changes: the original copies of the text are kept as a small treasure of the community, and the verses are still recited today in their ancient form. The performance, which has roots in an imagery similar to that of Paradise Lost, has been documented in Rutino since at least the second half of the 19th century and is considered one of the most well-known sacred performances in Cilento.

Continuity is also a matter of families: roles are passed down from generation to generation, and it is not uncommon for grandfathers who played the Devil for decades to find themselves on stage alongside their grandchildren making their debut as the Angel.

How the day unfolds

• At dawn: Singing of the Hymn to Saint Michael and exhibition of the Saint's treasure in the mother church.
• Morning: Solemn mass, followed by the procession with the venerated effigy of the Archangel through the main streets of the town, accompanied by the grand brass band concert.
• Early afternoon: The Sacred Performance of the Flight of the Angel in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, in front of the mother church.
• Evening: Musical show in the square, which closes the patronal festivities with illuminations and a large turnout.

The mother church and the context

The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, was built in very ancient times, certainly before the year 1000, and was radically transformed in 1885, when it was lengthened and raised, assuming its current three-nave layout. Inside, the marble altars of the side aisles, the stained glass windows dedicated to the sacraments, and the niche with the statue of the patron saint, modeled in the early 19th century, are preserved: it is the same effigy that goes out in procession every May.

Michaelic devotion and Cilento identity

The cult of Saint Michael the Archangel runs through the entire Campania and Cilento regions, where Michaelic caves and sanctuaries dot the inland hills. In Rutino, however, the devotion has taken on a unique theatrical form that combines liturgy, popular theater, and acrobatics: this is why the Flight of the Angel has become part of the thematic itineraries of Cilento and is today one of the most recognizable identity rituals of the territory, along with that of the nearby village of Lustra.

Why it is worth being there

Those who arrive in Rutino on the second Sunday of May find a town in celebration, the square crowded, stalls along the streets of the historic center, and a ritual that lasts only a few minutes but is prepared all year round. It is an authentic opportunity to understand how, in the heart of Cilento, faith and popular tradition continue to intertwine seamlessly, far from the tourist routes of the coast.