Shrine of N.S. della Guardia

The Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia ("Our Lady of the Watch") is a Roman Catholic place of pilgrimage located on the top of Monte Figogna (804 m asl), in the Municipality of Ceranesi, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the city of Genoa, in the northwest of Italy.

It is the most important Marian shrine in Liguria.

The name “Guardia” in Italian means “watch”, and the shrine is so called because in the Middle Ages Mount Figogna was a strategic observation station for monitoring the movement of armies along the Valpolcevera and of ships on the sea in the approaches to Genoa. From the pavement in front of the shrine, on a clear day, it is possible to look over all the Polcevera valley below, part of the city of Genoa, and the Ligurian Riviera. On a very clear day, mainly in winter, the skyline of the mountains of the French island of Corsica can also be seen.

The shrine is the destination of pilgrims from Genoa and from and all over Italy. The cult has been spread all over Italy and also far beyond, so that many churches and shrines have been dedicated to Nostra Signora della Guardia.

According to tradition, on August 29, 1490, the Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant called Benedetto Pareto and asked him to build a chapel on the mountain. Pareto was surprised and replied that he was only a poor man and would not be able to do that. But the Virgin Mary exhorted him by saying “Do not be afraid!”

Nevertheless, Pareto went home and did not tell anyone about the apparition. A few days later, he fell from a tree and was seriously injured. The Virgin Mary appeared to him again and he was miraculously healed. The event convinced him to speak about the apparition and to seek help to build the chapel.

According to tradition, the first chapel was built by Pareto himself at the site of the apparition. It is a small rectangular building with a wooden roof, now inside the new chapel. Within a niche is a marble Madonna dated 1530.

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Wikipedia