Oratory of Saint Mary Magdelene

The most beautiful church in the whole of Liguria. Keep it well, because it is a jewel

The building is an extension of the parish church, aligned on the axis of the horizontal arms, has a rectangular plan with a barrel vault with lunettes, covered by a slate roof with a ridged roof. The large mixtilinear windows were opened in the mid-1700s to give light to the interior after the round window and the main entrance door had been walled up due to the expansion of the building. The oratory is probably located in the same place as the ancient seat of the 16th century Disciplinati, a Confraternity so called for the practice of scourging itself with a species of whip called "discipline". The men of Laigueglia enrolled in the Confraternity, and there they met for prayer, the suffrage of the dead and to organize works of charity and assistance. At the head of the Confraternity were two Priors elected annually who, in the 1500s, also had the role of judges for disputes between confreres or to punish them for conduct contrary to morals. The Priors had social relevance: they disciplined and controlled fishing, the primary occupation of the Laiguelesi, the pivot of the country's economy. We do not know much about the structure in the sixteenth century period nor do we have evidence of the architecture or furnishings, but we can assume, given the chronicles of pastoral visits, that the building was in dilapidated condition. It must have been so run down that in the 1600s the confreres decided to take it down and build a new one in its place. On July 22, 1616, the feast of Santa Maria Maddalena, the first stone is laid. The construction will last eighteen years and will comply with the dictates of San Carlo Borromeo about the Oratories: with a single nave, with windows very high to prevent those who are outside from seeing the interior, west facade and east choir. Later the confreres provide for the furnishings. To pay for the altar and its altarpiece, in 1672 the Priors sent a petition to the Bishop of Albenga to allow them to fish the coral even on holidays and pay the debts with the extra proceeds. The altar, started in 1671 and finished in 1673, is the work of Dionisio Corte, author of majestic altars in the western Ligurian area. The fine altarpiece depicting penitent Saint Mary Magdalene assisted by angels is the work of Domenico Piola. The ex votos on display testify to the link between coral fishermen and the Confraternity. The panconi (dated 1656 and 1676) arranged on the side walls are dated 1656/1676. The pipe organ is a valuable instrument of the Ligurian School (Roccatagliata-Ciurlo?) Of the early eighteenth century. Recent works have brought to light a seventeenth-century fresco depicting the Saint. For over three centuries it has been ignored and hidden by the eighteenth-century canvas, now placed on the sea side wall. In it, Mary Magdalene, surrounded by angels, watches over Laigueglia while the arrival of the coral boats is greeted by the sixteenth-century towers.

Beautifully restored place of worship

Stupendous

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