The Abbey of San Fruttuoso in Camogli is a famous tourist destination, filled with art, architecture and history but off the coast from this institution is a rather more unique attraction.
The Christ of the Abyss is a submerged bronze statue of Christ called Christ of the Abyss which was placed in the bay at San Fruttuoso in 1954. Copies of the work have been placed in the waters at Grenada and Florida since then. If you have a passion for diving or in seeing oddities around the world, this might prove interesting.
Why not find a villa with pool in Liguria and spend your entire holiday in the water?
The Christ of the Abyss is a submerged bronze statue of Christ called Christ of the Abyss which was placed in the bay at San Fruttuoso in 1954. Copies of the work have been placed in the waters at Grenada and Florida since then. If you have a passion for diving or in seeing oddities around the world, this might prove interesting.
Why not find a villa with pool in Liguria and spend your entire holiday in the water?
The origins of the statue at San Fruttuoso began with the death of Dario Gonzatti in 1950. Gonzatti was one of the pioneers of diving and died during a diving accident. His friend, Duilio Marcante, came up with the idea of commemorating Gonzatti with a work of art to be placed on the site where Gonatti had died.
After some discussions and disagreements on the matter, Marcante's idea for a sculpture of Christ to be placed on the site was agreed upon. Guido Galletti created the work and it was placed 15 metres under water by a team from the Italian Navy and many divers.
After some discussions and disagreements on the matter, Marcante's idea for a sculpture of Christ to be placed on the site was agreed upon. Guido Galletti created the work and it was placed 15 metres under water by a team from the Italian Navy and many divers.
Interestingly, the statue was made from campaign and commemorative medals, parts of ships and bells. The image of Christ is seen in a pose of benediction of peace with his head and hands raised up towards the heavens. As the sculpture was placed under water it suffered a large degree of corrosion and growth of crustaceans which led to its removal from the water for restoration in 2003. By 2004, it had been cleaned and restored and missing parts, such as a hand discovered nearby, were reattached.
For those who wish to dive it, it is considered a rather simple and shallow dive which does not require any particular special precautions.
Local diving shops in Portofino offer excursions to the site. If members of a party are unable to dive or merely wish to stay dry, a copy of the statue has been placed in the church at San Fruttuoso and the original plaster cast is stored at Marina di Ravenna in the National Museum of Underwater Activities.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, make sure to find the time to stop by on your next visit to Liguria. There might be copies elsewhere but the original is surely the best!
For those who wish to dive it, it is considered a rather simple and shallow dive which does not require any particular special precautions.
Local diving shops in Portofino offer excursions to the site. If members of a party are unable to dive or merely wish to stay dry, a copy of the statue has been placed in the church at San Fruttuoso and the original plaster cast is stored at Marina di Ravenna in the National Museum of Underwater Activities.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, make sure to find the time to stop by on your next visit to Liguria. There might be copies elsewhere but the original is surely the best!
