Plagues drew the religious geography of these valleys. The epidemics that struck the area between 1443 and 1528 decimated the clergy as well, and from then on a single priest had to look after several parishes. This church thus changed hands repeatedly: now annexed to Rivarola, now to San Nicolò di Paggi, now to San Colombano di Cogorno.
What to see
The church, also called San Pellegrino, stands on the left bank of the Sturla stream. Its origins come from a thirteenth-century deed of sale in which a piece of land is described as bordering the land of the church of Santa Maria di Sturla: the first record does not talk about the church, it names it in passing as the boundary of a field.
Shortly afterwards, in a will of the early fourteenth century, a local man declares that he wishes to be buried here or in the church of San Giovanni Battista at Chiavari. Those are the two poles of his world: the valley church and the town church, and when it came to choosing where to end up he could afford to hesitate between them.
Visiting
The church is in via San Pellegrino, in the hamlet of Santa Maria di Sturla, municipality of Carasco, in the hinterland of Chiavari; it is a parish church and opens for services. Twenty minutes.
Our editors' tip
In the registers of the neighbouring parish, which for years held this one too, the names of the people from here appear: Sturla, Bacigalupo, Descalzo, Devoto. On the way out, look at the gravestones and the war memorial: those surnames are all still there. In a valley like this continuity is not measured on buildings, it is read on lists.