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Sant’Ampelio church on the coast of Bordighera

The church of Sant’Ampelio is a lovely Romanesque building perched on a small cliff in Bordighera.

Sant’Ampelio

The legend says that Sant’Ampelio used to live in the desert of the Thebaid in Egypt. He worked as a blacksmith. When he was tempted by the Devil, he drove him away wielding a red-hot iron. As a gift from God, he then became insensitive to burns. He is now the patron saint of blacksmiths. Sant’Ampelio moved to Ligurian coast to lead a hermit’s life. He took refuge in a cave among the rocks of the promontory. The Benedictine monks later built the church there to house his remains.

The church

The Romanesque church was built in the eleventh century. Many current features, however, are due to major remodeling at the end of the nineteenth century. The old perimeter walls were covered with white stone from la Turbie and the bell tower was built. Other major restoration works were made ​​in 1947 when the body of the saint was taken back to the city of Bordighera.

The palms

As a note of curiosity, it seems that Sant’Ampelio brought date kernels when he moved from Egypt. These kernels donated so many palm trees to Bordighera that the city became famous as the Queen of the Palms.

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