The Boschetto sanctuary holds an outstanding collection of seafarers' ex voto: panels and objects left in thanks for a grace received, tied to seafaring, fishing and maritime trade, from every period. In a town of captains and crews like Camogli, that gallery is the private archive of whole families. At the origin of it all is an apparition: on 2 July 1518, tradition says, the Virgin appeared here to the shepherd girl Angela Schiaffino. A first chapel went up on the spot; the sanctuary and convent you see today were built between 1612 and 1631.
What to see
The interior is divided into three naves, with baroque decoration and a frescoed vault showing the scene of the apparition. The choir loft was commissioned by the rector don Piero Benvenuto, who died in 2000, and carries his name. The image held to be miracle-working was crowned on 30 August 1818, for the third centenary of the apparition, by a decree of Pope Pius VII dated 12 August 1817; on 27 March 1955 Pope Pius XII proclaimed Our Lady of Boschetto patron of Camogli.
In front of the entrance an old elm still stands, spared by the recent rebuilding of the forecourt. In that same forecourt the remains of an earlier building have come to light, in all likelihood the small votive chapel linked to the apparition: the restoration work left them visible.
Visiting
The sanctuary is in via Enrico Figari, in the upper part of Camogli; from the centre it is about twenty minutes uphill on foot, or a short drive. It is a working church: hours follow the services, worth bearing in mind if you want to study the ex voto gallery at leisure. In 2018, for the fifth centenary of the apparitions, a committee of “boschettini” organised festivities and cultural events around the sanctuary.
Our editors' tip
We suggest giving the ex voto more time than seems necessary: taken one by one, with their dates and their details, they tell the maritime story of Camogli better than any museum. Then step out onto the forecourt, into the shade of the elm: from up there the town lies below you and the noise of the harbour arrives muffled.