Santuario di Nostra Signora della Guardia, Catholic shrine in Velva, Italy

The Santuario di Nostra Signora della Guardia stands in the Velva hamlet of Castiglione Chiavarese, on the provincial road 523 over the Colle di Centocroci, at the border with Maissana. The 19th-century building, designed by architect Maurizio Dufour, has a bell tower with four bells cast in 1907 by the Francesco Picasso foundry of Recco, tuned to the first four notes of F3. Inside are a Mascioni pipe organ of 1925 and a 2021 mural by Roberto Altmann in the presbytery vault and apse.

The shrine grew from a chapel requested by the people of Velva from Monsignor Luigi Persoglio, rector of San Torpete in Genoa, who spent summers in the village and proposed building a sanctuary. Works were entrusted in the 19th century to architect Maurizio Dufour. The wooden Madonna della Guardia carved by Antonio Canepa in 1892 was kept first in Santa Maria delle Vigne, then in San Torpete, before being moved to Velva on 25 August 1894.

The wooden Madonna della Guardia by sculptor Antonio Canepa was made in 1892 and kept first in Genoa's Santa Maria delle Vigne, then San Torpete, before being moved to Velva on 25 August 1894, reportedly almost in secret because of the offerings it drew. The shrine keeps a wooden crucifix by the same sculptor and a Saint Joseph image painted by Teresa Icardi in 1894. The feast is held every 29 August.

The shrine stands on the Colle di Centocroci pass line, on the border with Maissana, along provincial road 523 linking the Petronio valley in Genoa province with the middle Val di Vara in La Spezia province. It lies in the Velva hamlet of Castiglione Chiavarese, on via al Santuario di Nostra Signora della Guardia. The 29 August feast draws a large crowd, so plan around that date.

The bell tower holds four bells, two of which still bear bullet holes from World War II combat. These marks serve as silent reminders of the conflict that touched even this remote mountain location.