The church of Saint Bernard.

Historical notes.

The cult of Saint Bernard of Chiaravalle exists in Porto Maurizio and its 'terzieri' from the 15th century statutes of the community when the party of the saint is integrated among the day of obligatory abstention from the servile works; but given the structure of the building (barrel vault in interlaced reeds and "roman altar") the construction is more probably dated in the war of  30 years.

The Genoese senate, in fact, seeing the disastrous result of the war for the republic, the continuous violences submited by the population decided to elect Saint Bernard patron in case of victory. This happened about the 1625 and from that year blossomed again in all the Liguria the cult for that Saint and it is probably for this motivation that was built the chapel, under the tower , to thanks for the protection. (To the same events go up the miracles of Saint Sebastian and Saint Benedict Revelli, still today recalled by the procession of the dolls of Pieve di teco and the shot of the furgari of Taggia).

Later the church was incorporated in the patrimony of the brotherhood of the Disciplinanti of Saint John Baptist that dedicated to the maintenance of the building and to sang mass on August 20, day of the recurrence of the saint; to such purpose the prior named a " Massaro " that during the processions brought the characteristic pastoral baton ( " Bastun or Paetta " ) with the image of Saint Bernard.

Still today the day of the recurrence a mass is celebrated in the oratory of Saint John and the relic of the saint is exposed.

In the internal of the church was present an eighteenth-century cloth that represented the saint with the Virgo, removed from unknown in the '60 years.

Matteo Boschetti

The church before the restoration	... and after the restoration	... of side
... of side	sight from the entry	the pedestrian road
under floodlights	first plan	the garden
the altar	the gate of entry

Committee for the restoration of the church of Saint Bernard