Description of the attraction
The Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is the main church of the resort town of Camogli, located on the territory of the Ligurian Riviera di Levante. The church stands on Via del Isola. It received the status of a minor basilica in 1988, and today it is the parish church of the Vicariate of the Recco-Uchio-Camogli of the Genoese bishopric.
According to some historical documents, Santa Maria Assunta was built in the 12th century on top of a cliff just outside the port of a medieval fishing village. Over the centuries, the building of the church was rebuilt and expanded more than once, especially in the 16th century and in the first decades of the 20th century, which partially changed the original structure. In 1970, statues of Saints Prospero and Fortunato and Madonna del Boschetto were installed in three niches of the façade facing the main square.
Inside, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta consists of three baroque naves and is completely covered with sumptuous stucco and decorative elements in gold and colored marble. On the vaults of the church, there are frescoes from the late 19th century by the artists Nicolo Barabino and Francesco Semino. The high altar was made by the sculptor Andrea Casareggio, and the wooden choirs date back to the 18th century. Near the sacristy is the Descent from the Cross by the Ligurian painter Luca Cambiaso.
The chapels of the church deserve special attention. The chapels in the right side chapel are dedicated to Madonna del Rosario, Purgatory (with Gerolamo Schiaffino's Madonna and Child), Saint Prospero (with a valuable 16th century ark), the Sacred Heart of Christ (with a 19th century statue of Ferdinando Palla) and Saint Gaetano (with a wooden sculpture of the Madonna and Child). In the left side aisle are the chapels of the Crucifixion (with 17th century frescoes and a 16th century painting), San Giovanni Battista (with a marble altar), Saints Peter and Fortunato (this chapel contains the relics of Saint Fortunato and statues of Peter and Paul), San Giuseppe, Sant Erasmo and Madonna del Boschetto and St. Anthony of Padua.
