The high altar of the parish church of San Rocco was not made for this building: Bernardo Schiaffino carved it for the University of Genoa, and it was the people of the village who bought it and carried it up here. It is the object that says most about the place, a few houses on a ridge acquiring a city altar. The present church was built in 1863, though according to some sources a shrine to Saint Roch already stood on this same spot in the fifteenth century.
What to see
Inside, Schiaffino's altar remains the reason to come: marble worked by a leading Genoese sculptor, arrived in a village church by purchase rather than by commission. Its details are worth hunting out, because they were designed for a hall much larger than this one.
The church became an independent parish only in 1935, by a decree of 17 April signed by the archbishop of Genoa Carlo Dalmazio Minoretti, and it was solemnly consecrated on 17 December 1963 by Cardinal Giuseppe Siri. Today it belongs to the vicariate of Recco-Uscio-Camogli. Outside, the churchyard is a balcony open over the Golfo Paradiso: many people come up for that and then step inside.
Visiting
San Rocco is strung along the ridge, about 6 km from the centre of Camogli; besides the road, you can walk up by the path that follows the valley of the rio Gentile and starts at the south-eastern edge of the town. The road ends right on the church forecourt, which therefore works as car park, viewpoint and trailhead. From here you drop down to Punta Chiappa, meeting the Romanesque church of San Nicolò di Capodimonte halfway, or you carry on towards San Fruttuoso, which can be reached only on foot or by boat.
Our editors' tip
Go into the church before you set off, not after: coming back from Punta Chiappa you climb the whole height in one go, and the last thing on your mind will be looking at an altar. And if you have time for a single stop, make it the forecourt in late afternoon, when the light takes the gulf side on.