Christ of the Abyss
Encyclopedia
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, located in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
off San Fruttuoso between Camogli
Camogli
Camogli is a small Italian fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso at the Riviera di Levante, in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. its population was of 5582 inhabitants. The name means "house of wives"...
and Portofino
Portofino
Portofino is a small Italian fishing village, comune and tourist resort located in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is crowded round its small harbour, is closely associated with Paraggi Beach, which is a few minutes up the coast...
on the Italian Riviera
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines...
. It was placed in the water on 22 August 1954 at approximately 17 metres depth, and stands c. 2.5 metres tall.
The sculpture was created by Guido Galletti after an idea of Italian diver Duilio Marcante. The statue was placed near the spot where Dario Gonzatti died in 1947. He was the first Italian to use SCUBA gear
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
. It depicts Christ in a pose offering a blessing
Blessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
of peace. His hands and head are raised toward the surface (or the sky, when positioned above water).
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
and the growth of crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, the statue was removed from the water and restored in 2003. A hand that had been detached by an anchor was also replaced. 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
St. George's, Grenada
St. George's, population 89,018 , with an agglomeration of 4,500 people , is the capital of Grenada, . The city is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is on a horseshoe-shaped harbor....
. This was a gift of the navy of Genoa for assistance in rescuing the crew of Italian vessel Bianca C destroyed by fire in the port of St. George's. 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 25 feet off the waters of Key Largo, Florida
Key Largo, Florida
Key Largo is a census-designated place in Monroe County, Florida, United States, located on the island of Key Largo in the upper Florida Keys. The population was 11,886 at the 2000 census. The name comes from the Spanish Cayo Largo, or "long key"...
. It is located around Dry Rocks
Dry Rocks (reef)
Dry Rocks is a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the east of Key Largo, within the Key Largo Existing Management Area, which is immediately to the east of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The reef lies within a Sanctuary Preservation Area...
, around six miles east of Key Largo
Key Largo
Key Largo is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and, at long, the largest of the Keys. It is also the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the Keys connected by U.S. Highway 1...
in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a Florida State Park located on Key Largo in Florida, and includes approximately 70 nautical square miles of adjacent Atlantic Ocean waters. It was the first underwater park in the United States. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places...
. While the statue weighs around 260 kg, the concrete base to which it is attached weighs about 9 tons.
Various other casts of the statue exist both under water and above water in churches and museums.
The original clay statue minus the hands was located in a foundry in 1993. This is now on display with replacement hands at the National Museum of Underwater Activities in Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
See also
- Christ the RedeemerChrist the Redeemer (statue)Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is tall, including its pedestal, and wide. It weighs 635 tonnes , and is located at the peak of the Corcovado...
in Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. - Cristo RedentoreCristo RedentoreChrist the Redeemer of Maratea is a statue of Jesus Christ in Maratea, southern Italy, realized in Carrara's marble in 1965 by Bruno Innocenti, a sculptor from Florence.-The Statue:...
, Christ the Redeemer of MarateaMarateaMaratea is a town and comune of Basilicata, in the province of Potenza. It is the only town of the region on the Tyrrhenian coast and because of its beautiful scenery and coastline it has been called "the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian"...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - Christ of Vung TauChrist of Vung TauChrist of Vung Tau is a statue of Jesus, standing on Mount Nho in Vung Tau, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Dong Nam Bo, Vietnam. The Catholic Association built the statue in 1974 and it was completed in 1993....
in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(32 m) - Christ BlessingChrist BlessingChrist Blessing is a statue of Jesus Christ in Manado City, Indonesia. The structure stands 50 metres tall and consists of 20 metres of pedestal and 30 metres of statue. It is made of 25 tonnes of metal fibre and 35 tonnes of steel, and is located at the peak of the CitraLand residential estate...
in ManadoManadoManado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Manado is located at the Bay of Manado, and is surrounded by a mountainous area. The city has about 405,715 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... - Cristo Rei of DiliCristo Rei of DiliCristo Rei of Dili or Christ the King of Dili is a 88.6 foot tall statue of Jesus located atop a globe in Dili, East Timor. This statue was designed by Mochamad Syailillah, who is usually called Bolil. The statue was officially unveiled by Suharto in 1996 as gift from the Indonesian government to...
in DiliDiliDili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, East TimorEast TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor... - Cristo-ReiCristo-ReiThe Sanctuary of Christ the King is a Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ overlooking the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and inaugurated on 17 May 1959...
in PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
: a 28 metre high replica of Christ the Redeemer - Cristo Rey del Cubilete in GuanajuatoGuanajuato, GuanajuatoGuanajuato is a city and municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the state of the same name. It is located in a narrow valley, which makes the streets of the city narrow and winding. Most are alleys that cars cannot pass through, and some are long sets of stairs up the mountainsides....
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
: a 23 metre high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer - Christ of the OzarksChrist of the OzarksChrist of the Ozarks statue is a monumental sculpture of Jesus located near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, atop Magnetic Mountain. It was erected in 1966 as a "Sacred Project" by Gerald L. K. Smith. He briefly led the Share Our Wealth movement initiated by Huey P. Long during the Great...
in ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, USA: a 20 metre high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer - Christ the Redeemer of the AndesChrist the Redeemer of the AndesChrist the Redeemer of the Andes is a monument high in the Andes at 3,832 metres above mean sea level on the border between Argentina and Chile...
(ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
/ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
) - Cristo de la ConcordiaCristo de la ConcordiaCristo de la Concordia is a statue of Jesus Christ located on San Pedro hill in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The statue is tall, on a pedestal of , bringing its total height to...
in CochabambaCochabambaCochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
, BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... - Cristo Blanco in Cuzco, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- Cristo de las NoasCristo de las NoasEl Cristo de las Noas, located on the Cerro de las Noas hill, in the Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila, is a large sculpture by Vladimir Alvarado, portraying Jesus Christ...
in TorreónTorreónTorreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...