The Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia ("Our Lady of the Watch") is a Roman Catholic place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

located on the top of Monte Figogna (804 m asl) in the Municipality of

Ceranesi Ceranesi (; lij, Çianexi ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northwest of Genoa. The Municipality of Ceranesi includes also the Shrine of N.S. della Guardia, the most ...

, about from the city 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 ...

, in the northwest of

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 ...

. It is the most important Marian

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. The name “Guardia” in Italian means “watch”, and the shrine is so called because in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Mount Figogna was a strategic observation station for monitoring the movement of armies along the Valpolcevera and of ships on the sea in the approaches to Genoa. From the pavement in front of the shrine, on a clear day, it is possible to look over all the

Polcevera valley Val Polcevera is one of the main valleys crossing Genoa, taking its name from the eponymous river. It is one of two valleys bordering the historic core of the city, along with Val Bisagno Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an A ...

below, part of the city of Genoa, and the Ligurian

Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...

. On a very clear day, mainly in winter, the skyline of the mountains of the French island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

can also be seen. The shrine is the destination of

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s from Genoa and from and all over Italy. The cult has been spread throughout Italy and far beyond, so that many churches and shrines have been dedicated to ''Nostra Signora della Guardia''.

History

Santuario di Nostra Signora della Guardia-Ceranesi-1820-

According to tradition, on August 29, 1490, the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

appeared to a peasant called Benedetto Pareto and asked him to build a chapel on the mountain. Pareto was surprised and replied that he was only a poor man and would not be able to do that. But the Virgin Mary exhorted him by saying “Do not be afraid!” Nevertheless, Pareto went home and did not tell anyone about the apparition. A few days later, he fell from a tree and was seriously injured. The Virgin Mary appeared to him again and he was miraculously healed. The event convinced him to speak about the apparition and to seek help to build the chapel.

The first chapel

According to tradition, the first chapel was built by Pareto himself at the site of the apparition. It is a small rectangular building with a wooden roof, now inside the new chapel. Within a

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

is a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

dated 1530.

The shrine

Edicola della Madonna della Guardia dei Giardini Vaticani

Due to the increasing flow of pilgrims, a new

was built on the top of the mountain between 1528 and 1530, thanks to a donation of the noble Ghersi family. Near the shrine a hospice for the pilgrims was also built, and this was rebuilt at the end of the 18th century. In the second half of the 19th century, a new shrine was built. There were both technical and financial setbacks, but the church was completed in 1889 and inaugurated on May 26, 1890. In the following years, the number of pilgrims continued to grow, and in 1903 the old church was demolished to make room for a new hospice and guesthouse for the pilgrims. On March 11, 1915, the Genoese

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

gave the church the title of

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. Then, in 1917, Benedict built a small temple in the gardens of the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

where a statue of Our Lady of the Watch (given to the Pope by the Genoese people) was enshrined. In 1929 in

, a railway line (known as the “Autoguidovia”) was constructed, which allowed pilgrims to reach the shrine from the bottom of the valley. Before this the only way up was on foot. In 1963, a new road for vehicles was built (provincial road No 52 from

Bolzaneto Bolzaneto is a quarter of the city of Genoa, in northwest Italy, and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa. Geography Bolzaneto was once a hamlet located outside of the city limits in the Polcevera valley, but in the recent centuries ...

, long), and in 1967 the “Autoguidovia” was considered to not be economical and was closed. On September 22, 1985, the shrine was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, and on May 18, 2008, by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

while visiting Genoa on May 27, 2017, visited also the shrine, and here he had a lunch with a group of poor people, inmates and refugees.

Structure of the basilica

The new

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

was designed by Guglielmo Calmieri. It has a Latin cross shape with three

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s. The main aisle is painted with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es (1963) by the Genoese painter Antonio Santagata (1888-1985) with scenes of the life of the Virgin Mary. The frescoes in the

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, painted by the Lombard painter Pasquale Arzuffi (1897-1965), represent Mary surrounded by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

patron saints. In the church are also other statues representing the Virgin Mary and saints ( St. John the Baptist,

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

, St. Eusebius) and on the left of the high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, a black procession

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

. A door in the left aisle leads to the hall of offerings, where hundreds of paintings, photos and objects have been left by people to express their gratitude to the Virgin Mary for having been curing or protecting them from illnesses, accidents, wars and shipwrecks.Giovanni Meriana, ''Guida ai santuari della Liguria'' (Guide to shrines in Liguria), Sagep Editrice publisher, Genoa (Italy), 1990.

References

External links

Shrine of N.S. della Guardia Official Website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070930040932/http://www3.chiesacattolica.it/santuari/sm-italia/liguria/genova/eu-i-genova1.htm Hiking routes leading to the Shrine
Article about “Autoguidovia"
{{Coord, 44.490, N, 8.863, E, display=title, source:dewiki Churches in the province of Genoa Shrine of N.S. della Guardia Catholic pilgrimage sites

Guardia Guardia (Italian and Spanish, 'guard') may refer to: People *Guardia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (1900–1970), Costa Rican politician *Francisco Calderón Guardia (1906–1977), Costa Ric ...