Every 29 June, Finale Ligure celebrates Saint Peter, protector of fishermen and sailors. There are bonfires on the beach and the procession of the statue of the saint through the streets of the town, carried on the shoulders and made to dance by the fishermen, who for the occasion go barefoot and wear a rough cloth habit.

The heavy statue, depicting St. Peter in a gesture of devotion to the resurrected Jesus, leaves the church and is carried first to the "beach of the Whites" and then to that of "the Blacks", for the salute to the sea.

The return to the church is the most important moment. The bearers gather their last strength. The crowd falls silent. They rush up the steps and down the great aisle, breathless. St. Peter stops and turns slowly. And in that moment, one understands the meaning of an authentic celebration, of sincere devotion. If St. Peter has gone straight in, the year will be fishy.

Popular superstition says that people must not swim in the sea on 29 June because it is said that every year St. Peter "pulls someone down by the feet".