Camogli's Stella Maris Procession: A Century-Old Maritime Ritual

On Sunday, August 2, 2026, Camogli, Italy, will host the annual Stella Maris procession, a maritime and land-based ritual honoring the Madonna, protector of sailors. The event, first conceived in 1924 by Don Nicolò Lavarello, begins with decorated boats led by the Dragun—a symbol created in 1968 by artisan Ido Battistone—sailing from the port to Punta Chiappa. A land procession from the Romanesque Church of San Nicolò di Capodimonte carries the Stella Maris painting to the same destination, where a mass is celebrated at an altar featuring a 20th-century mosaic by Francesco Dal Pozzo. The mosaic, completed in 1947, reproduces a 15th-century graffito discovered in 1925 during church restorations, depicting a Madonna and Child appearing to a storm-tossed ship. The Church of San Nicolò, among Liguria's oldest abbeys, was likely consecrated in 345 AD and rebuilt around 1000 AD. After abandonment and private ownership, it was restored by Cavalier Andrea Bozzo in 1865 and reopened in 1870. The procession route also passes through the Parco di Portofino, leading to the Abbey of San Fruttuoso, founded in the 8th century and rebuilt in the 10th, now owned by FAI. A special candlelit visit is scheduled for August 29, 2026, for the Night of the Christ of the Abyss.