The church was constructed around 1710 by the Brotherhood of Suffragio on a pre-existent oratory dedicated to San Michele and was afterwords dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Recco's patron-saint since 1557, and then declared sanctuary in 1776.

The sanctuary was built between 1925 and 1928 next to pre-existent church and to the XVIII century bell tower whose tilt was corrected in 1931 following the building project of priest Piccardo. The canvas of Madonna of Guadalupe is placed on the main central altar; it's a donation made by Cardinal Giuseppe Doria to the parish community in 1814, formerly set in Giovanni Andrea Doria's galley during Lepanto battle in 1571.

The origin of the sanctuary is related to a supposed miracle: the apparition of the Virgin Mary happened to a shepherd maid from Ravino, a small hamlet not far from the sanctuary and now disappeared. It was the end of 1500 when the girl, suffering from plague, heard a voice inviting her down to a stream where she discovered a spring from which she drank and recovered.

The sanctuary stands at 600 meters above sea level, on the peak of Mount Orsena. It’s dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to whom the inhabitants of the small hamlet of Santa Maria del Campo in Rapallo are much devoted.

Along the Provincial Road 13, which leads to Creto, lies the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Tre Fontane, built in the second half of the twelfth century. Tradition tells about the apparition of Mary to a deaf and dumb girl, who regained the word. At the news, clergy and people rushed to the place indicated by the girl, and they found a wooden statue of Mary with Child.

Nestled in a wooded hill along the Via Aurelia, between Chiavari and Zoagli, the Shrine is well visible from the sea. It’s for this reason probably that it was once a popular destination for yachtsmen who left numerous ex-votos now moved to the chapel and the sacristy.