Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro

The basilica sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro is a place of Catholic worship located in the hamlet of Montallegro in the municipality of Rapallo, in the metropolitan city of Genoa. The building is located on a hill about 612 m above sea level. Considered to be among the main Marian shrines in the metropolitan area of Genoa and Liguria, it was built by the people of Rapallo between 1557 and 1558, together with the adjoining pilgrims' shelter, after the apparition of the Virgin Mary to the peasant Giovanni Chichizola on July 2, 1557, according to tradition. The current marble façade is the result of the restoration work carried out by the Milanese architect Luigi Rovelli in 1896, inaugurated with a solemn ceremony on June 21 of the same year. Our Lady of Montallegro has been the patron saint of the City of Rapallo since 1739, the year in which she was elected as patron saint of the Rapallo community, its captaincy and the parishes of Santa Margherita Ligure. This recognition is reproduced on the municipal coat of arms, which bears, since November 28, 1948, the Marian monogram, formed by the intertwined letters M and A, placed between the two griffins supporting the royal crown. Together with Our Lady of the Garden - who appeared in Chiavari on July 2, 1610 - she is co-patroness of the diocese of Chiavari, the latter erected by papal bull of Leo XIII on December 3, 1892. The r

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