Divers pressure-wash popular underwater statue of Christ

Police and navy divers have cleaned one of the biggest underwater attractions of the Mediterranean, using pressurized water hoses to remove crustaceans from the “Christ of the Abyss” statue that was placed on the seabed off Italy’s northern coast in 1954 as a memorial to those who have died at sea.

- BY SILVIA STELLACCI AND NICOLE WINFIELD

Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for Liguria

A SCUBA diver in the Italian navy cleans the bronze statue of Christ located in the Mediterranean Sea.

The 2.5-yard-tall bronze statue, depicting Christ with his hands raised in blessing, was made using the melted-down medals of Italy’s fallen soldiers, cannons and ships and is appreciated here as a potent symbol of sacrifice in World War II. Similar statues are found off Key Largo, Fla., and in Grenada.

The statue is located about 300 yards off the beach between the resort towns of Portofino and Camogli, on Italy's northern Ligurian coast, at a depth of around 18 yards.