Oratories

Oratorio of Santa Caterina from Alessandria - Piazza Sant’Ambrogio
It was built during the first half of 1500 between the perimeter wall of Sant’Ambrogio and the walls that surrounded Alassio. Its origins are connected with the still existing “Ghilda” of Santa Caterina, one of the most ancient and glorious in our region. 
Above the “banconate” made of walnut, inside elegant stucco frames, there are paintings representing several saints according to the conventional typology of the imaginary devotion of the post counciliar age. 
The imposing central altar is in marble, surmounted by four big columns of black marble from Greece; in the middle of them there is a large niche with a front of sculptured marble, in which is the remarkable polychromatic wooden processional chest by Anton Maria Maragliano.
Above the lateral altar stands the marble statue of S. Antonio Abate, the work of the Genoese sculptor Taddeo Carlone.
The choir gallery with its organ, (the most ancient in the area), built by the famous 17th century organ-maker 
Giovanni Oltrachino from Pavia, is a beautiful example of engraving and gilding of the baroque age.
 

Oratory of Sant’Erasmo - Via Garibaldi (Borgo Coscia)
It was built in 1614 at the expense of coral-divers. Over the central door stands a beautiful marble statue of the Madonna del Popolo, an excellent work of the 17th century. Inside, at the center of the ceiling there is a gouache fresco with the figure of Sant’Erasmo; above the altar there is the altar piece of the famous Genoese painter Giovanni Andrea De Ferrari.
Also the 18th century Spanish made wooden statues of Sant’Erasmo and the sea pebble floor of the front portico made in 1640 representing boats used for coral diving and fish (tuna), are quite interesting

Oratory of the Madonna del Vento - Parco Fuor del Vento 
This oratory, dedicated to the Presentation, standing along the mule track which from Parco Fuor del Vento to Regione Costa was built in the middle of the of the 13th century by seamen from Alassio and then re-built in 1400 and during the first half of the 17th century.
The façade, decorated with stripes, figures, stucco ornaments and graphite marks, are of a certain artistic interest.

Chapel of San Rocco - Regione San Rocco
The Chapel dedicated to the Madonna della Consolazione was built in 1253 and for three centuries it was named after S. Rocco who had stopped in Alassio at the Ospitium Pauperum of Santa Maria della Carità. Its portico is joined to the façade under which passed the mule track to Moglio. Inside, on the altar made of precious marbles, one can see the great altar piece of the 17th century Genoese school, representing the Virgin sitting and holding the Bambino with St Sebastiano and St Rocco at their side. Other saints are represented on the right and left walls.

Sanctuary of the Madonna della Guardia
The Sanctuary of Maria Santissima, under the title of the Guardia was built in 1200. Its origin is not due to a miraculous event but rather to the devotion of the people from Alassio and in particular the seamen who wanted to honor the Virgin under whose protection they sailed by building a small Chapel in which the image of the Stella Maris is kept.
At the beginning of the 17th century it was enlarged and in the years 1864-65, the construction of the apse and of the entrance portico took place. The Sanctuary is situated on top of Mount Tirasso (586 m), the highest pass in the area which dominates the whole gulf of Alassio. The mount owes its name to the Medieval castle, the “castrum tiraculi” whose ruins are still visible. 
The interior of the church has an 18th century plan with three naves supported by pillars and in the center of the apse stands the ancient and venerated marble statue of the celestial Guardian. In the Chapel of the left nave, there is a wooden group of the Madonna della Guardia who appeared in 1490 on mount Figogna in Genova. The monumental marble altar dates back to 1600. The whole vault of the central nave was frescoed in the years 1859-60 by the painter Vittorio Grana. Worthy of consideration are the imposing and solemn altar which stands at the center of the presbytery and the organ with mechanical transmission which was rebuilt with nineteen century material.
The church houses many “ex voto” and it is surrounded by a vast green park visited by many tourists. 

On the hills all around, there is again the Madonna delle Grazie, known as “Casté”, the first inhabited place and inside the little church we can see the most ancient coat of arms of Alassio, Moglio ancient country hamlet surrounded by olive trees, Caso, Solva and Vegliasco the hamlet connected with the legend of Adelasia and Aleramo.

An Alassio entirely to be discovered...

 















 
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