The Traditions of Our Lady of Montallegro and the July Festivities
A symbol of the most deeply felt celebrations in the town of Rapallo, Our Lady of Montallegro embodies the spirit of tradition for the town and many of its inhabitants.
The Sanctuary, built in her honour in 1559 represents the heart of the traditional July festivities, while bearing witness to the artistic and spiritual prosperity of the time.
The July celebrations and the rituals connected to the Madonna are not only acts of devotion, but also threads that weave together memory, local identity, and collective participation.
The Sanctuary of Montallegro in Rapallo
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro stands 612 metres above sea level, in a position that offers some of the finest views over the Gulf of Tigullio. Perched between mountains and sea, it remains one of the most striking and most visited sites in Liguria.
There are several ways to reach it. Pilgrims and walkers can follow the old mule tracks and mountain paths that have been used for centuries. For a shorter journey, a cable car — inaugurated in the 1930s — runs directly from the centre of Rapallo to the summit, offering a ride that is as spectacular as it is brief. It is also accessible by road, with a car park just below the sanctuary and a bus service climbing the winding route through San Maurizio dei Monti.
Inside, the sanctuary houses the very heart of the devotion: the miraculous icon of the Dormitio Virginis, said to have been left by the Virgin Mary during her apparition in 1557. Alongside this sacred image are paintings and works of art from different centuries, each reflecting the continuing devotion and artistic enrichment of the site over time.
Particularly moving is the Hall of Ex Votos. Here, hundreds of painted tablets, personal objects, model ships, and offerings from the faithful testify to prayers answered and lives saved. More than a devotional collection, the hall is a record of social and religious history: stories of everyday struggles, shipwrecks survived, and miraculous recoveries.
The first building of the sanctuary was begun in 1559, only two years after the apparition. It was enlarged to its present size by 1640. Later additions gave it the appearance we see today. The white marble façade in neo-Gothic style, designed by architect Luigi Rovelli in 1896, lends the church an imposing yet harmonious character.
The interior is arranged in three naves with side chapels, many of which were decorated in the Baroque style during the 17th and 18th centuries. The wide, luminous spaces draw the eye towards the Byzantine icon on the high altar, the true spiritual focus of the sanctuary. Among the artworks preserved are frescoes and paintings by noted Ligurian artists such as Giuseppe Galeotti and Giovanni Battista Carlone. The side altars, in carved marble, are enriched with stuccoes and details typical of Genoese Baroque.
For centuries, the sanctuary has been more than a place of prayer. It is also a cultural and scenic landmark: a place where pilgrims, walkers, and visitors encounter not only faith but also the beauty of the Ligurian landscape, opening onto sweeping views of hills, coast, and sea.
The Apparition and the Origins of the Devotion
The devotion to Our Lady of Montallegro has its roots in an event dated to 2 July 1557. On that day, a farmer from the Val Fontanabuona, Giovanni Chichizola, was walking the path from Rapallo to Canevale when he experienced something extraordinary. The Virgin Mary appeared to him on Monte Leto — the site where the sanctuary now stands — and entrusted him with a message: the people of Rapallo were to venerate her in that very place.
As proof of her presence, she left him a small Byzantine icon, dating from the 11th century, which depicts the Dormitio Virginis (the “falling asleep” of Mary before her Assumption). At the same spot, a spring of clear water suddenly began to flow, which is still preserved inside the sanctuary today.
When the local authorities were informed, they decided to transfer the icon to Rapallo and placed it in the parish church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio. Yet the following morning it had mysteriously returned to Monte Leto, in the very place of the apparition. This was taken as a sign of the Virgin’s will to remain there, and so the decision was made to build the sanctuary in 1559.
A second miraculous episode further strengthened devotion. In 1574 a ship from the Republic of Ragusa, commanded by Captain Nicola de Allegretis, was caught in a violent storm off the Cinque Terre. Fearing for his crew, the captain vowed to make pilgrimage to the nearest Marian shrine should they be saved. They reached Rapallo safely and climbed to Montallegro.
There, the sailors were astonished: they recognised in the Byzantine icon the same one that had mysteriously disappeared from their city years earlier. Accusing the locals of theft, they demanded it back. After the tribunal of the Republic of Genoa ruled in their favour, they set sail with the image. Yet shortly after leaving, the icon vanished from the ship and reappeared on the high altar of Montallegro. This prodigious event confirmed once and for all the special bond between Rapallo and its Madonna.
Devotion to Our Lady of Montallegro Today: The July Festivities
The feast of Our Lady of Montallegro, held every year from the 1st to 3rd of July, is among the most important religious and civic celebrations in Liguria. It brings together locals, pilgrims, and visitors from across the region and beyond, blending faith, tradition, and spectacle.
The celebrations begin after nine nights of pilgrimage, when the faithful walk to the sanctuary and keep vigil until dawn — the traditional novena. On the morning of 1 July, the silence is broken by the first thunderous salvos of mascoli (small mortars) and fireworks, Rapallo’s way of greeting the Madonna and marking the start of the festivities.
For three nights, the town’s six historic districts — Borzoli, Cappelletta, Cerisola, Costaguta, Seglio, and San Michele — compete in magnificent firework displays, launched from both land and sea. This centuries-old rivalry is more than entertainment: it is a living symbol of civic pride and belonging.
The climax comes on the evening of 3 July, with the traditional “burning” of Rapallo’s castle. After the solemn procession, the historical fortress on the seafront is dramatically lit up with fireworks, marking the beginning of the final night’s pyrotechnic contest.
Another highlight is the midday Panegirico on 2 July, when thousands of mortaletti (firecrackers) are set off in a deafening daytime display, known locally as ramadam, just before the start of the daytime fireworks. The honour of organising it passes from one district to another each year.
During the festivities, Rapallo bursts with colour and sound. Flags of the districts flutter across the streets, while stalls, markets, and food stands add to the lively, festive atmosphere.
An ongoing tradition
The Sanctuary of Montallegro, poised between sky and sea, continues to be not only a place of prayer but also a symbol of welcome and encounter. For pilgrims, tourists, families, and entire generations, it remains a fixed point in both the landscape and the life of the town.
The devotion to Our Lady of Montallegro, rooted in over four centuries of history, is far more than a religious tradition. It is part of Rapallo’s identity, uniting faith, memory, and community. Each July, in the silence of night pilgrimages and the thunder of fireworks, the people renew their bond with the Virgin and with one another.
In these days of celebration, ancient ties are reaffirmed and new shared memories created. And so, year after year, Our Lady of Montallegro remains not only the patroness of devotion but also the beating heart of Rapallo’s living history.
For further details, see the official pages of the Municipality of Rapallo and the Sanctury of Montallegro.
