Devotion holds that in 1722, on the spot where the church now stands, the Virgin appeared to a mute girl and that the girl recovered her speech. The story has come down by word of mouth alone, with no documents behind it, and for three centuries it has supported a sanctuary that Bardino Vecchio still treats as a family matter. The building you see is eighteenth-century in plan, but the nineteenth century reworked it several times and altered some of its original features.
What to see
The interior runs on three naves. At the head of the right-hand one stands the altar with the wooden group the faithful venerate: several statues by an unknown carver, whom some sources place in the circle of the Savona sculptor Antonio Brilla. They were put in place in 1822, for the centenary of the apparition.
The strongest impression comes from the collection of ex voto, left in thanks for favours received and made largely of gold jewellery. They are not shut away in a case like finds: on the day of the annual feast they are fixed to the statue of the Madonna, which for the occasion is covered in rings, chains and earrings brought by local families.
Visiting
The sanctuary is at Bardino Vecchio, a hamlet of Tovo San Giacomo, on the provincial road 4 linking Pietra Ligure to Magliolo. It sits halfway up the slope among vineyards and scattered houses, a few minutes by car from the coast. Outside service times it may well be locked: ask at the parish or check with the town hall before driving up.
Our editors' tip
Come on the day of the feast, when the gold goes back onto the statue and the church fills up: it is the only moment when the ex voto collection reads for what it is, an archive of family stories rather than a set of objects. On other days it is worth carrying on along the provincial road towards Magliolo; it stays high above the vineyards and the landscape changes completely within a few kilometres.