Christ of the Abyss is a 2,5 meters, 260 kg bronze sculpture of Jesus Christ that stands in 17 meters depth. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea off San Fruttuoso between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera. Professor Guido Galletti cast the original from the inspiration of Italian swimmer/diver Duilo Merchant who wanted a symbol to inspire all who explored and loved the sea in 1954.
The statue was placed near the spot where Dario Gonzatti, the first Italian to use SCUBA gear, died in 1947. The sculpture, created by Guido Galletti, was placed in the water on 22 August 1954. In front of the Abbey San Fruttuoso, into a natural cove, the statue is under the wather. San Fruttuoso can be reached only by sea, by boat from Portofino. The statue is not very accessible to tourists, there are diving opportunities, with special equipment fee of 20 euros, but only in the hot season, from May to September.
When the water is clear, Cristo degli Abissi, as the Italians say, the statue can be seen from the shore. For those who do not want to dive, there is a copy of the statue, with the same dimensions as the original, inside the Abbey San Fruttuoso. Every year on the last Sunday in July, there is a memorial to all those who lost their lives in water. The religious ceremony takes place on the beach at night, torches are lit, it blesses the water, and divers dive into the sea and put on Jejus head a crown of laurels.
Due to increasing amounts of corrosion and the growth of crustaceans, the statue was removed from the water and restored in 2003. The statue was returned to the water with a new base on 17 July 2004. A second bronze sculpture cast from the same mould exists off the coast of St. George's, Grenada. The sculpture was placed under water on October 22, 1961. A third bronze from the original mould was presented to the Underwater Society of America in New York in 1962. On August 25, 1965 it was placed approximately in 25 feet of water off the coast of Key Largo, Florida.
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