In 1608 the masons cut out of the old chapel the whole wall bearing the fresco of the Virgin and Child and carried it intact onto the front of the new marble high altar: the image venerated today at Pietra Ligure is that piece of fourteenth-century wall. The chapel stood in the marshes of the Maremola; after the visions and miracles reported in 1548 the town decided to build a larger church in front of it, and around 1550 fishermen and seafaring families took to praying here, which is how the title of Our Lady of Succour stuck. Earlier still, the sources speak of a Roman temple to Diana and of a Christian dedication in 390, obtained through the Genoese bishop Diogenes.
What to see
The church has a single nave and Doric order, with the apse closed by a marble altar in the Franciscan manner: the Capuchins, by contrast, used wooden ones. The one you see was ready in 1668 and replaced an earlier altar of 1614. A marble plaque at the entrance recalls the Doria: in 1607 prince Gianandrea Doria and his wife Giovanna Colonna had land bought for 200 ducatoni and given to the friars, and commissioned the convent from the Accame brothers; the first stone had been laid on 4 October 1606. The prince's death left heirs unwilling to pay and the work dragged on for years.
Just past the entrance, on the right and slightly raised, is the chapel with a replica of the Lourdes grotto, carved out of the church interior in 1908; a marble tablet thanks Angelo Gaggero and Giuseppina Porro, who paid for the work after a grace received. The baroque bell tower went up in 1797 and carries a peal of seven bells, famously out of tune.
Visiting
The sanctuary stands in via Soccorso, outside the old core of Pietra Ligure, and is a parish church run by the Friars Minor: opening times follow the services. To the right of the entrance rises the convent of 1889, a three-storey building; its left wing was handed over in 1963 and houses a sheltered home for the elderly. From 8 December 1969 the sanctuary was called Purificazione di Maria for some years, and on 8 October 1995 it took back its present name, closer to Mary's role as helper of seafarers. The square in front is named after father Cristoforo Boccardo, the first parish priest.
Our editors' tip
We always look for the two plaques and compare them: the one for the Doria princes at the entrance and the one for Angelo Gaggero and Giuseppina Porro in the Lourdes chapel. Three centuries apart, the same arrangement. And it is worth remembering, looking out to sea, that up to 1808 Pietra Ligure launched 500 ships, at least sixty of them named after the Madonna.