Holidays Camogli, in the Portofino's coast, near Recco
The monumental building sitting above the town’s centre is the Monastery of the Olivetan Benedictine monks of Saint Prospero, founded in 1880. Saint Prospero, bishop of Tarragona, died in Camogli while passing through on his way to Rome, The stone where he rested his head before dying was sealed in the outer wall of the Monastery. A valuable collection of scrolls is housed in the library of the monastery. From the square, lovely views of Camogli can be enjoyed.
The Shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the “Boschetto”, or Little Woods, is found along the road which goes from Camogli to Ruta. The townsfolk of Camogli have always been especially devoted to this sacred spot, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a twelve-year-old shepherdess in 1518. According to the story, in this apparition the Madonna told the girl that it was her desire that a chapel be built on the spot.
Today the church’s cloister houses a collection of votive paintings which bear witness to the devotion of Camogli’s sailors to Our Lady of the Little Woods. Each year on Good Friday, the ark bearing the Madonna is carried in a procession which winds its way down from the shrine to the parish church.
Along the road from Camogli, going up the western side of the Portofino promontory, at 300 metres above sea level, among pine and chestnut trees lies the hamlet of Ruta, the trailhead for walks to Portofino Vetta and San Rocco. This little hamlet, where Friederich Nietzche stayed in 1886, is comprised of homes and villas scattered along the slopes of the mountain.
Ruta’s parish church, dedicated to Saint Michael, houses a small marble sculpture entitled the “Madonna with Child”.
Two lovely baroque paintings from the Genoese school, “Crucifixion” and “Immaculate” hang in the presbytery.
The last little town accessible by motor vehicle in San Rocco. It is also reachable by foot, following the panoramic road which connects it to Ruta, or by any of the footpaths that lead to Camogli and the other little villages on the promontory.
San Rocco’s church stands in a little square which affords a spectacular view of Paradise Gulf. The church, built in 1863, is dedicated to Our Lady of Health”.
The church’s most impressive piece of artwork is the painting “Our Lady of Health” by Carlo Dolci, whose enormous marble frame was sculpted by Bernardo Schiaffino.
Every year on the 16th of August, the feast of the patron Saint Rocco, prizes are awarded to the most loyal dogs of the year and to people who have shown outstanding love for animals.
|
