When the sea is active, the waves reach up to the Dragonara and caress the belfry of the Assunta Church. The castle, or what remains of it, and the church protect the small harbor full of boats. One of these is the Dragun, launched on May 1, 1969, and designed by the craftsman Ido Battistone. It’s a boat with characteristics of the xebec and the galley, obtained from the transformation of a lifeboat from an early 20th-century ship. The Dragun has sailed all the seas and major rivers of Europe and even beyond, with its 12 oars and lateen sails. It’s one of the symbols of Camogli, along with the fishermen’s cooperative and the Cenobio dei Dogi. Across the bay from the church stands the castle. They are linked by the waterfront built in 1913.
The other local symbol is the fishermen’s Cooperative, with 30 members, 30 boats and a tonnarella, i.e. a fixed fishing net with a traditional and highly sustainable fishing system. The medium to large size fishes remain trapped in the mechanism of the chambers and concentrated between the boats. This is how the fishermen can control the catch and release the undersized fish they can’t sell or are prohibited from fishing.
The bigger fish end up in the kitchens of local restaurants or at the two fishmongers of the cooperative in Camogli and Recco. On the second Sunday of May, the fish is cooked in the four-meter frying pan, that's the main feature of the Fish Festival that also celebrates the town’s patron saint, San Fortunato. There is a particular fondness for anchovies: a poor but noble fish sold fresh or packed in salt.
