The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro (Italian: Santuario di Nostra Signora di Montallegro) is a major

Marian sanctuary A shrine to the Virgin Mary (or Marian shrine) is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion. Such locales are often the destination ...

in the

Province of Genoa The Province of Genoa (Italian ''Provincia di Genova'') was a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Genoa. It was replaced by Metropolitan City of Genoa. Overview It has an area of and a total population of about ...

, located on a hill (approx 612 meters above sea level) inland in Rapallo. It was built - along with the annex shelter for pilgrims - in 1558 Madonnas That Maim: Popular Catholicism in Italy Since the Fifteenth Century
/ref> thanks to the funds of the inhabitants. The current marble facade was built in 1896 by the Milanese architect Luigi Rovelli and opened with a solemn ceremony on June 21 of that year. Our Lady of Montallegro is the patroness of the city of

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiavar ...

from 1739, when she was elected as the patron saint of the community rapallese, his Captaincy and the parishes of

Santa Margherita Ligure Santa Margherita Ligure ( lij, Santa Margaita) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used for b ...

. This recognition is reproduced on the municipal coat of arms showing from 28 November 1948 a letter "M" in the center of the two griffins below the royal crown. The hymn of Our Lady of Montallegro, entitled shines on high, was composed and set to music by teacher and priest Giovanni Battista Campodonico. Santuario di Montallegro-navata

The church

The interior of the sanctuary was renovated and enlarged in 1640 primarily, has a single nave with four side altars, in addition to another greater one where is kept and exposed to the veneration of the faithfuls a small Byzantine painting (which local legends say to be given by Maria herself as a gift to the inhabitants), placed permanently in 1743 in a Baroque Silver Pavilion donated by the noble Tomaso Noce. In the first altar on the right side it is possible to admire Giovanni Battista Carlone's painting ''Visitazione''; in the second altar hangs a crucifix made in white marble by Francesco Schiaffino. In the same altar on the left side is preserved as well Carlone school's painting ''Annunciazione''. The affrescature and pictorial decoration of the vault and apse were performed, respectively, by the painters Francesco Boero of Rapallo - with the representation, in four parts, of historical events and "miraculous" linked to the figure of the Byzantine icon - and the Genoese Nicolò Barabino that over the high altar (the work of nineteenth-century architect Luigi Rovelli) represented the scene of the Marian apparition to the farmer John Chichizola. The organ of the church was built in 1907 by Inzoli of

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product) Crema is the Spanish word for cream. I ...

References

{{coord, 44, 22, 12, N, 9, 15, 20, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Basilica churches in Liguria Minor basilicas in Liguria Roman Catholic churches in Genoa