The Abbey of San Fruttuoso is 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 ...

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 ...

. It is the seat of the

Catholic parish In the Catholic Church, a parish ( la, parochia) is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is t ...

of the same name of the

Vicariate A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Recco-Uscio-Camogli,

Archdiocese of Genoa The Archdiocese of Genoa ( la, Archidioecesis Ianuensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Erected in the 3rd century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133. The archdiocese of Ge ...

. The abbey is located in a small bay beneath a steep wooded hill. It can only be reached by sea or by hiking trails, there is no road access.

St Fructuosus

The abbey is dedicated to Saint Fructuosus, a third-century bishop of

Tarraco Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republic ...

(now

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

in north-east Spain) who was martyred under the

persecutions Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

of the Roman Emperor Valerian. In the eighth century the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of Fructuosus were moved here by Greek monks. St Fructuosus's ashes are still kept at the abbey.

History

Abbazia di San Fruttuoso di Camogli-DSCF0689

The abbey was founded by the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

and most of its buildings date to the tenth and eleventh centuries. The original tenth-century church tower had a Byzantine-style spherical top; this was later replaced by the present octagonal tower. The

cloisters A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

are twelfth century and were modified in the sixteenth century by Andrea Doria. The building facing the sea was built in the thirteenth century to a similar design to the noble palaces 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 ...

. The abbey contains tombs of members of the noble Genoan

Doria family The House of Doria ( lij, Döia ) originally ''de Auria'' (from ''de filiis Auriae''), meaning "the sons of Auria", and then ''de Oria'' or ''d'Oria'', is an old and extremely wealthy Genoese family who played a major role in the history of the ...

dating from 1275 to 1305, along with other tombs and an ancient Roman sarcophagus. The Doria tombs have black and white stripes, typical of Ligurian architecture of the period. Above the abbey stands ''Torre Doria'', a watchtower erected in 1562 by the family of Admiral

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...

(1466–1560), who defended the abbey and its supply of fresh water from

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

. In the 17th century the abbey went into decline, and parts of it were used for keeping sheep. In 1730 Camillo Doria restored the abbey, and returned the church to liturgical use. Some of the buildings were damaged by flooding in 1915, these were restored by the Italian state in 1933. In 1983 the Doria Pamphili family donated the San Fruttuoso complex to the heritage organisation ''

Fondo Ambiente Italiano The Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI) is the National Trust of Italy. The organisation was established in 1975 as the Fondo Ambiente Italiano, based on the model of the National Trust of England, Wales, & Northern Ireland. It is a private non-profi ...

''. Restoration of the buildings started in 1985 and was completed in 2017.

The underwater statue ''

Christ of the Abyss ''Christ of the Abyss'' (Italian: ''Il Cristo degli Abissi'') is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus Christ by , the original cast of which is located in the Mediterranean Sea, off San Fruttuoso, between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Rivi ...

'' was installed in the sea off San Fruttuoso in 1954, at a depth of .

In literature

Daphne vid San Fruttuoso 1948 SLSA 1150 foto 1060

San Fruttuoso was visited by Finnish writer

Göran Schildt Göran Schildt (11 March 1917 – 24 January 2009) was a Finnish Swede author and art historian. He was the son of the author Runar Schildt. Life and work Schildt is perhaps best known for his travelogues with the sailboat ''Daphne''. He ...

in his documented travels on board the ketch ''Daphne'' in 1948.

References

External links

* Website on the abbey and its surroundings {{DEFAULTSORT:Fruttuoso, San, Abbey Monasteries in Liguria Benedictine monasteries in Italy Churches in the province of Genoa Romanesque architecture in Liguria Fondo Ambiente Italiano

St Fructuosus

History

In literature

See also

References

External links