At the end of the eighteenth century Napoleon's French troops, under General Andrea Massena, set fire to the old church of Ruta. A long abandonment followed, and only in 1950 did the monuments authority rebuild the much-argued spire of the bell tower. The building itself goes back to the thirteenth century: until 1627 it was the only church in the village, it was the parish church dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, and it is now dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Everyone around here calls it the Chiesa Millenaria, or simply the old church.
What to see
The architecture is Romanesque and has not been softened: a central nave ending in an apse, bare stone, low and regular volumes. What stands today is the result of two restoration campaigns, in 1905 and in 1950, which saved the building and at the same time took something away from it.
In 1905 the sacristy was built and a small house against the left flank was pulled down, in all likelihood a hostel for pilgrims; on the same occasion the original floor was replaced and the tomb slabs were destroyed, although they had been described in the report of the apostolic visit of 1749. It is a loss you can now read about only in documents, but it explains why the floor is the one silent part of the church.
Visiting
Ruta sits 269 m above sea level, on the ridge that divides the two sides of the promontory, about 3.5 km from the centre of Camogli; the church is on via XXV Aprile. You reach it by the provincial road 30 of Ruta and the Aurelia trunk road 1, or by the provincial road 31 of San Martino di Noceto. The building is not among the houses: it stands on a meadow ringed with trees, looking out over the hillside coast on the slopes of Monte Esoli. Parish services are held instead in the church of San Michele Arcangelo, further down on the via di Bana.
Our editors' tip
From the meadow starts the path that climbs Monte Esoli and carries on to the sanctuary of the Madonna di Caravaggio, in the municipality of Rapallo. Even without walking it all, take the first few minutes of the climb: they are enough to see the church from above, its roof among the trees and the sea beyond the ridge. Wear closed shoes, the surface is that of a real footpath.