''Christ of the Abyss'' (Italian: ''Il Cristo degli Abissi'') is a submerged bronze statue of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

by , the original cast of which is located in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, off

San Fruttuoso The Abbey of San Fruttuoso is on the Italian Riviera between Camogli and Portofino. It is the seat of the Catholic parish of the same name of the Vicariate of Recco-Uscio-Camogli, Archdiocese of Genoa. The abbey is located in a small bay beneath ...

, between

Camogli Camogli (; lij, label= Genoese, Camoggi ) is a fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso in the Riviera di Levante, in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy ...

and

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...

on the

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...

. Various other casts of the statue are located in other places worldwide, in underwater locations, churches and museums.

Original clay statue

The original clay positive, minus the arms, was located in a foundry in 1993. The arms were later found and attached, but not the hands, which had to be replaced. The reconfigured clay sculpture is now on display at the National Museum of Underwater Activities in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Three bronze statues

Italy (1954)

The original bronze statue was placed in the Mediterranean Sea on 22 August 1954, at approximately depth, and stands tall. It was sculpted by Guido Galletti, based on an idea of Italian diving instructor . The statue was placed near the spot where Dario Gonzatti, the first Italian to use

SCUBA gear Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chri ...

, died in 1947. It depicts Christ offering a

benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

of peace, with his head and hands raised skyward. The statue was subsequently dedicated to the memory of Marcante. Due to increasing amounts of

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

and the growth of

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s, the statue was removed from the water and restored in 2003. A hand that had been detached, presumably by an anchor, was also replaced. The statue was returned to the water with a new base on 17 July 2004. The statue was cleaned in 2018.

Grenada (1961)

A second bronze sculpture, cast from the same mold as the original bronze statue, was placed on the coastline of St. George's, Grenada. It was a gift of the navy of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

for assistance in rescuing the crew of the Italian vessel , which was destroyed by fire in the port of St. George's. The sculpture was placed on October 22, 1961.

U.S. (1962)

Christ of the Abyss Key Largo (2027447382)

A third bronze statue, from the original mold, was presented to the Underwater Society of America in New York in 1962, and shipped by boat to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where it was set up for unveiling in the ballroom of the

Palmer House Hotel The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevators, ...

at the Underwater Society of America 1962 convention. On August 25, 1965, it was placed in approximately of water off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, near Dry Rocks, approximately six miles east of

Key Largo Key Largo ( es, Cayo Largo) is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected b ...

in the National Marine Sanctuary, just outside of John Pennekamp State Park. The statue weighs around 260 kg, and the concrete base to which it is attached weighs approximately 9 tons.

In popular culture

*In Part 3 of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Original series ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

'' (Season 1, Episode 3), Danny Rayburn is seen taking guests at his family's

Monroe County, Florida Monroe County is a county in the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,874. Its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys and comprises the Key West Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

inn, Rayburn House, snorkeling at ''Christ of the Abyss'' in Florida. *An image of one of the statues was used as cover art, both for BT's '' Ima'', and for

God Lives Underwater God Lives Underwater was an American rock band, formed during 1993 in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania by vocalist/programmer David Reilly and guitarist/programmer Jeff Turzo. They were later joined by guitarist Andrew McGee and drummer Adam Kary ( ...

's debut album ''

Empty Empty may refer to: ‍ Music Albums * ''Empty'' (God Lives Underwater album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Empty'' (Nils Frahm album), 2020 * ''Empty'' (Tait album) or the title song, 2001 Songs * "Empty" (The Click Five song), 2007 * ...

.''