The oratory of San Sebastiano was born in Altare as a vow against the plague: it was probably built in the first half of the seventeenth century, right after the epidemic that struck the population between 1628 and 1631, in forms between late Renaissance and Baroque. No worship takes place here any more. In 1972 the building was given over to secular use and it is now private property; the wooden statue of its patron saint, made around 1900, was moved to the parish church.
What to see
You look at it from outside, from the square that carries its name, and the bell tower is where to start: it is not the original one, and it is not even on the right side. The first stood to the right, but the violent earthquake of 1887 that hit Liguria forced its demolition, and the replacement went up on the left.
The front was reworked in 1909 along with other parts of the building, so what remains of the seventeenth-century forms is the frame rather than the detail. There is one precise, datable mark, though: a wooden cross, set into the wall in 1926 in memory of a rural mission preached by Capuchin friars for the holy year of 1925.
Visiting
The former oratory cannot be visited: it is in private hands, and piazza San Sebastiano is as close as you get. A few minutes are enough, and it is easy to fit in, because the old centre of Altare is small and entirely walkable.
Our editors' tip
If glass interests you, this building is stop number zero. Until 2004 it housed, on a provisional basis, the museum of Altare glassmaking, later moved to villa Rosa, the Liberty-style house built between 1905 and 1906 to a design by Nicolò Campora. Look at the oratory, then go to the museum: you realise how long Altare took to give a permanent home to the craft that made its name.