In 1799, the church of St. Vittore was abandoned and destroyed. The statue was transferred to the church of St. Carlo (built and officiated by the Discalced Carmelites since 1635), initially placed temporarily on the main altar and shortly after in the chapel of St. Teresa belonging to the noble Garbarino family (the second on the left). In 1867, it was permanently returned to the main altar.

**Description:** The statue depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Child with her left arm, a globe in her left hand, and a rosary in her right (height approximately 2.25 m; it predates 1636). It is currently placed on the main altar of the church of Sts. Vittore and Carlo.
**First use:** 1636
**Image:** Statue
**Original location of the shrine:** Inside the church of St. Vittore, specifically on the altar of Our Lady of Fortune.

**Notes on the collection:** All 17th- and 18th-century ex-votos were looted by Napoleonic troops.
**Types of ex-votos:** Inscribed tablets or plaques, painted tablets, goldsmith objects, others.
Many were published in *Breve narrazione storica…* (see bibliography), pp. 62–234.

In 1636, the statue of the Virgin appeared among the waves during a storm. It was first placed near the discovery site at the Darsena, in a warehouse on the ground floor of a house belonging to the Lomellini marquises. Following a miracle (see entry 22), devotion spread, and it was decided to move the statue to the parish church of St. Vittore (the same year). The church was abandoned and destroyed in 1799, and the statue was transferred to that of St. Carlo (built in 1635), now called Sts. Vittore and Carlo.

On **17/01/1636**, a violent storm devastated the port of Genoa, destroying many ships, including an Irish vessel carrying a statue of the Virgin and Child. The statue appeared among the waves, miraculously unharmed, and was recovered and placed in the Lomellini family’s ground-floor warehouse. There, it performed a miracle by saving a girl who had fallen from the upper floors of the same building. The news spread throughout the city, and devotion grew immensely. It was then decided to place the miraculous image near where it had emerged from the sea, in the nearby church of St. Vittore in the Pré district. As it was being positioned, the statue lifted from the bearers’ hands and effortlessly placed itself on the pedestal. This event is recounted by Giscardi in *Codice Urbani 127* (held at the Franzoniana Library in Genoa), by Accinelli in *Liguria Sacra* (Vol. II, p. 135), by L. Zignago in *Storia di N. S. della Fortuna* (1757, p. 22), and by A. and M. Remondini in *Santuari ed immagini di Maria SS. nella città di Genova* (Genoa, Caorsi, 1865, pp. 90–91).

The Doge and the Serenissimi Collegi decreed that, at the start of the *Gloria in Excelsis* during the Mass on **26/03/1643** and every subsequent year, the festive roar of cannons from twelve galleys would sound in devotion to the Virgin.

From April to September 1636, the statue was hidden behind a wall from the faithful until **07/09**, when the Vicar of the Archdiocese, Monsignor Cusani, having verified through investigations that the venerated statue had always been considered an image of Mary and was worthy of special devotion due to its miraculous acts, granted the Prior of St. Vittore permission to break the wall and expose it to public veneration.

**24/11/1735:** The church of St. Vittore was officially dedicated to Our Lady of Fortune by the Archbishop of Genoa, Nicolò De Franchi.
In 1751, the feast day commemorating the statue’s discovery (**17/01**) was moved to the fourth Sunday of January.
**09/01/1770:** Clement XIV approved the establishment of the Noble Ladies of Our Lady of Fortune.
The image was visited by Cardinals Domenico Spinola, Gio. Batta Spinola (of the Title of St. Cecilia), Ottaviano Raggi, the Cardinal of Savoy, Stefano Durazzo (Archbishop of Genoa), and the Bishop of Sinigaglia.

**1636:** An indulgence was granted to those who invoked Mary under the title of Fortune and recited litanies in her honor every Saturday.
**09/01/1770:** Clement XIV granted a plenary indulgence, obtainable monthly by the Pious Ladies of a Congregation established to promote devotion to Our Lady of Fortune.
**11/09/1770:** Clement XIV granted an extensive Jubilee for the feast on the fourth Sunday of January, extended to the following two days by another Bull on **15/12**.

In the years after 1799 until 1867, the statue remained in a chapel under the patronage of the noble Garbarino family.

Prè, Genoa, Italy