Camogli: Stella Maris Festival 100th Anniversary

This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Stella Maris Festival—a tradition that runs deep in the hearts of Camogli’s people. It honors the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris—Star of the Sea—the protector of sailors and fishermen. But it’s more than a religious ritual. For the people of Camogli, it’s personal.

It’s the town’s heartbeat, rising to the surface for one weekend each summer.We had been living in Recco for almost a year, and when we saw the details about the event, my wife and I definitely wanted to check it out. The festival itself was on August 4th, and my very pregnant wife was quickly approaching her due date—but we both decided it was going to be an experience we didn’t want to miss.

I had actually just received both of my chairs from a Kickstarter campaign I had supported (and waited over a year to receive), which turned out to be the perfect solution for something we didn’t know we needed. So I packed up our stuff, grabbed both of the super portable chairs, and we set off to grab the train from Recco to Camogli just in time for sunset.

The train was absolutely packed with people, and as we got to the Camogli station, it felt like everyone from nearby towns was arriving to experience this magical night together. We moved with the flow of the crowd heading down to the seaside and watched from various sea-access points as people lit their little floating lantern ships and gently pushed them out into the sea. There were literally thousands of them drifting at different distances from the beach.

The church was lit up in such an incredible shade of blue—it looked like a mix of lapis lazuli and the kind of deep blue that covers the buildings in Chefchaouen, Morocco. It was vibrantly illuminated and absolutely gorgeous.