CHIAVARI, Diocese of. – Diocese and city in the province of Genoa, erected by Leo XIII on 3 Dec. 1892; it covers an area of 570 sq km with 148 parishes, 242 diocesan priests and 44 regular clergy, a seminary; it has about 100,000 inhabitants, all Catholic (1948); it is a suffragan of Genoa. The first bishop was Francesco Vinelli (d. 26 Dec. 1910).
The Cathedral, the Madonna dell’Orto, was built in 1613 and is a minor basilica; it is preceded externally by a colonnade by Poletti, and inside it contains frescoes by Baratta and paintings by Borzone and Merano. Other churches are those of S. Giovanni and S. Francesco.
After the discovery of the Fieschi conspiracy (1542), the city of Chiavari, subject to the Genoese, suffered greatly. In the parish of Cugurno the monumental Gothic church of S. Salvatore, built by Innocent IV, a Fieschi, c. 1250, is admired. Near the church are the remains of the Fieschi palace (13th cent.).