On one of the bells of the old parish church of Pietra Ligure there is the print of a hand. They call it “the hand of Saint Nicholas”, and it points back to 8 July 1525: the townspeople, who had fled the plague to a spot still called Baracchini, heard the bells ringing, came down the hill and saw an old bishop on the belfry who vanished as they arrived. From that day, tradition says, the epidemic stopped. The people of Pietra vowed to raise a large church for the saint of Bari; deciding where to build it, however, took two centuries.
What to see
The site was chosen by colonel and cartographer Matteo Vinzoni, sent by the Republic of Genoa: the wide stretch of shore in front of the village. Of the designs submitted, the winner was by the Genoese architect Giovanni Battista Montaldo — a single broad nave under a pavilion vault, six side chapels finished at the expense of local noble families, and two hemispherical chapels flanking the high altar, raised by the confraternities of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Anthony Abbot. Work began in 1752 and lasted 41 years: the blessing came on 25 November 1791, with the church still unfinished and only one bell tower. Inside, the length is 56 metres and the nave is 25 high; the pavilion vault, 23.50 by 27.50 metres, is among the largest in Europe.
The dark walnut choir stalls and the black walnut pulpit come from the old cathedral of Marseille: saved from the bonfire during the French Revolution, they were bought by the captain of a Pietra cargo ship and were already installed here in 1794. In the apse hangs the panel icon of Saint Nicholas painted by Giovanni Barbagelata in 1496 and restored in 2010. The frescoes and interior decoration date from 1866; the façade statues and the wooden processional groups, among them the Saint Nicholas of 1877, are by Antonio Brilla of Savona. Pope John Paul II raised the church to minor basilica in 1992.
Visiting
The basilica stands on piazza San Nicolò, right behind the seafront, and can be picked out from far off by its two bell towers: the inland one came first, the seaward one was completed in 1863 together with the pediment of the façade. There are fourteen bells in all, spread over four chambers, each with its own job, from announcing mass to tolling for the dead. Above the central portal is the organ built by the Cavalli firm of Lodi in 1907, with 1,960 pipes.
Our editors' tip
If you can choose the date, come on 8 July: the procession of the vow goes through the streets every year, and the fifth centenary of the miracle fell in 2025. On any other day, we suggest sitting in the Marseille choir stalls and looking closely at the wood: that walnut crossed the Mediterranean on a cargo ship to avoid being burned.