Basilica Santa Maria di Nazareth

The Basilica of Santa Maria di Nazareth sits in Sestri Levante, a coastal town east of Genoa in Liguria, and holds the honorific rank of basilica minor within the Diocese of Chiavari. Built in the early 17th century in the Renaissance style, it received a classicist portal in the 19th century — a layered combination common among Ligurian parish churches that were updated across different eras. The building is recognised as an Italian national monument. Inside, the church is spare and cool, its Marian dedication anchored by an aged high altar, offering a calm retreat from the seafront activity of Sestri Levante's centro storico.