History and Culture: Religious Architectures

Former Convent of Annunziata in Sestri Levante

The Convent of the Santissima Annunziata: Origins in the Levante Ligure

The Convent of the Santissima Annunziata was the first Dominican settlement in the Levante Ligure, founded in 1467 with the approval of Pope Sixtus IV and with the support of the Federici family. At that time, the Dominicans were seeking new spaces in Liguria to accommodate their growing number of monks. The convent quickly grew, becoming autonomous in 1498 and enriched with chapels and works of art, eventually becoming the preferred burial place for local noble families.

Religious and Cultural Center for Three Centuries

For over three centuries, the Annunziata was a religious and cultural reference point for the area. However, at the end of the 18th century, with the secularization of church properties, the Dominicans were forced to abandon it. At the beginning of the 19th century, the convent was transformed into a French barracks, beginning a long period of neglect.

The Tagliaferro Colony and the New Destiny of the Annunziata

In 1867, Canon Angelo Tagliaferro and his sister Maria purchased the complex, transforming it into a hospice for children affected by scrofula. In 1890, the building was donated to the municipalities of Biella and Casale Monferrato and became a seaside colony, taking the name “Colonia Tagliaferro.” It remained in this function until 1982, when a new period of decline was interrupted only by the recent restoration of the entire complex.

Architecture and Historical Memory

The original structure featured a square cloister around which all convent spaces were organized: sacristy, refectory, monks’ cells, communal and representative areas. The church followed 15th-century Gothic architectural schemes. Unfortunately, from the first half of the 19th century, the convent was stripped of its artworks and furnishings, yet the historical and architectural memory of the complex continues to tell its long story.

Sources

Geoportale Regione Liguria – Architetture;
“L’Annunziata di Sestri Levante”, a cura del Comune di Sestri Levante e della Fondazione Mediaterraneo, Genova 2003;
Rossignotti M., “Sestri Levante. Itinerario artistico”, Milano 1952;
Spiazzi R., “I Domenicani a Sestri Levante”, Roma 1981

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