The world is full of religious images. Some are more famous than others, like the Corcovado Christ in Brazil. But there is one that is much more impressive than the rest: the Christ of the abyss, who is submerged under the sea.
It was placed at the bottom of the sea in the bay of San Fruttuoso in the 1950s, it is still preserved and amazes many.
The Christ of the abyss (in Italian: Il Cristo degli abissi) is a bronze statue of Jesus of Nazareth, submerged since 1954 at the bottom of the San Fruttuoso bay, within the Portofino marine protected natural area, at a depth of 25 m.
His story
The statue, about 2.50 m high, was built by the sculptor Guido Galletti, placed by the MarinaMilitare at a depth of about 17 meters, and taken to the bottom by many divers. The hands of Christ, directed towards the surface (or towards the sky, since it is an underwater statue), are in a sign of peace.
To obtain the bronze of the statue, medals, naval elements (including propellers donated by the United States Navy) and bells were melted down. After the death of Duilio Marcante (promoter of the idea) a plaque was placed at the base of the statue in his memory.
In 2003, the statue was restored to protect it from corrosion and crustaceans and, above all, to reattach a hand that had been broken by an anchor. It was relocated back into the water on July 17, 2004 on a new base, at a shallower depth than before. Would you like to visit it?