CHIAVARI, Italy – After my brother’s first visit to the Italian Riviera, I was curious to know what
part of the Riviera he had enjoyed the most.
I was a little surprised when instead of naming one of our famous
seaside towns like Santa Margherita or even historic Genoa, he said Montallegro.
Our Lady of Montallegro, Rapallo, Italy |
It must have been the part where
we were having lunch under the leafy trees looking out over the harbor and town
of Rapallo far, far below us that he liked. It surely couldn’t have been the harrowing
ride up the side of the mountain in the cable car because I saw
him gripping the hand rail as we sailed high above the trees. Nor could it have been the part where we were
climbing the steep slope to get to the Basilica of Our Lady of Montallegro
either, because I wasn’t the only one gasping for breath at the top of the
stairs.
Truthfully other than
the church and two hotel/restaurants, there isn’t much else up on that mountain,
unless you count the hiking paths through the woods that lead down to sea. What
it is, is a very peaceful place far from the reach of the hustle and bustle of
the posh seaside towns below. But the main
reason I had brought my brother all the way up the mountain was to see the
Basilica of Our Lady of Montallegro and all the ex-votos in the church.
The Basilica is the
centerpiece of Montallegro. It’s the only church I’ve ever been in where the
walls are covered, practically floor to ceiling, with ex-votos, those small
offerings often given in gratitude to a saint for fulfilling a vow. The
ex-votos in Our Lady of Montallegro were given for help in passing a school
exam to recovering from an illness to being rescued from the middle of the sea
during a war time bombing. Some ex-votos are photos, others are hand drawn pictures
or copies of school exams or medical results, but mostly they are little silver
hearts tied with a small red ribbon. Ex-votos are part of a very old tradition
that dates back to ancient Egypt, and like the Egyptians, the people of Rapallo
had many reasons to be grateful.
During the 16th
century, when the church was built, Rapallo was just a small village of about
1,300 people. With easy access from the sea, the village was often attacked and
sacked by the Ottomans and Barbary pirates. With only a small civilian army, it was fairly
easy for the famous Turkish pirate Alì Dragut Rais to overtake the village.
During one brutal attack he sacked the village, captured many of the village’s
inhabitants and then sailed away to Algeria to sell his captives as slaves.
A Delegation of Priests from Tuscany Were Visiting Montallegro Too |
After that devastating
event, the villagers decided to build a fortress near the waterfront, and get
themselves a cannon. Both the fortress and the cannon are still in place, just
in case they are needed, even though the pirates are long gone.
But less than ten years
after the attack by Ali Dragut Rais, Rapallo once again became a battleground.
This time the war was between the two local noble families, the Bianchi and the
Del Torre, who were fighting each other for control of the territory. At the
same time, an equally dangerous threat was looming, the Black Plague.
An Ex-Voto from 1899 |
It was during this period
that a farmer, Giovanni Chichizola of Canevale, claimed that the Virgin Mary had
come to him while he was tending his goats in the hills above Rapallo, and told
him to build a church on that site. To make a long story short, the church was
built and even during the period of construction, life seemed to miraculously
improve for the people of Rapallo.
And Then Lunch Under the Trees |
The townspeople thanked the
Virgin Mary for their improved fortune and began showing their thanks by
bringing ex-votos to the church and putting them up on the walls. Farmers would
give thanks for healthy crops, the merchants and artisans for continued
success. Even seamen and fishermen would go to the church and make their vows
and pray to the Virgin Mary to keep them safe at sea.
Just because the pirates
weren’t attacking the town any more didn’t mean that they were not lying in wait in one of
the many coves that line the Ligurian coast, ready to pounce on the ships
hauling cargo or bringing in treasure from far- away places. And let us
not forget the ever present danger of violent storms at sea and what that meant
to fragile fishing boats and sailing ships out on the open sea.
The Trip Back Down to Rapallo |
And if they survived,
even salty sailors would trek up the mountain and show their gratitude with a
heart or a painting or a souvenir brought back from where ever they had sailed home
from. From its position high above the town, and closer to heaven, Montallegro
was the perfect place to sit and give thanks to the Virgin Mary for their
survival for they knew just how precarious their journey had been.
But I’m not a sailor or a
merchant or even a farmer, I’m not even a believer but there is something truly
spiritual about being in Montallegro that brings me peace. I cannot think of a
better way to spend an afternoon than sitting out under the trees at the Il
Pellegrino hotel/restaurant, looking out over the sea, thinking about things
and enjoying that feeling of renewal that I get when I’m there. It’s no wonder
the Italians don’t talk about this place. They want to keep it all to
themselves, and I don’t blame them.
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