The patron saint of Rapallo is Our Lady of Montallegro, elected protector of the Rapallo community in 1739 and celebrated on 2 July. The basilica sanctuary dedicated to her stands on a hill about 612 metres high, in the hamlet that takes its name from her: it was built by the townspeople between 1557 and 1558, together with the attached pilgrim shelter, after the Marian apparition that tradition says occurred precisely on 2 July 1557 to the farmer Giovanni Chichizola. Considered among the leading Marian sanctuaries of Liguria and the Genoese metropolitan area, it received its current marble facade in 1896, rebuilt by the Milanese architect Luigi Rovelli and inaugurated with a solemn ceremony on 21 June of that year.
The patronal celebrations run from 1 to 3 July, with the traditional procession on the 3rd, accompanied by fireworks over the sea. Rapallo also hosts the Palio Marinaro del Tigullio, the rowing contest on Ligurian gozzo boats that, between May and August, pits the coastal towns of Santa Margherita Ligure, San Michele di Pagana, Zoagli, Chiavari, Lavagna and Sestri Levante against each other.
