Heritage: La Magdeleine

The excavations begun in 2003 to identify the protohistoric settlement located at the foot of the rocky pyramid of Mont Tantané were followed by six search campaigns - until 2010 - and are still far from being complete.
Interesting legendary traditions refer to this site, locally known as Le Reparé du Tantané.
The settlement of Mont Tantané is made up of two different and contiguous groups of huts, separated by a short slope. The upper group (“morena” [moraine], 2441 m above sea level), presents a series of 25 adjoining huts, aligned roughly north-south direction, and has a valley bordered by two moraine ridges at the foot of the scree slope of Mont Tantané. The lower range (“abitato” [settlement], 2425-79 m above sea level) is placed on a large terraced hillside sloping down to the north. Excavations so far have revealed 10 huts on the terraced summit of the town and 3 huts on the terrace immediately below. It is estimated that the whole of the town could include about fifty huts, a much larger number than the higher group of the moraine. On the whole it’s a very considerable settlement, because of the altitude of its location.
The huts were built in dry walls, using elongated blocks of about 60 cm. Their shape is very variable, from square to rectangular, oval, circular, polygonal. They are usually adjacent, to form small groups or arrays. It is not yet clear the type of their coverage, which was probably wooden.
The archaeological remains found in the huts include pottery, tools made by ollare stone, iron, bronze and some Celtic coins. There are also wooden objects and abundant testimonies of edible seeds (cereals, legumes). These remains allow us to date the abandonment of the settlement to the first century BC, which is the final phase of the Iron Age, while at the present state of research, the period of its foundation is not known yet.
However, the biggest question about this high altitude seasonal settlement is about its function, apart from those of mountain pasture; some economic activities have probably developed in relation to the resources on the site, but military-strategic, land control or shelter functions cannot be excluded.

The mills of La Magdeleine still preserve a great charm, reminding us of ancient times, when mills were the hub of country life.
In the hamlets of Brengon, Clou and Messelod, aligned by a small stream of water that comes from a source underneath Monte Tantané, there are eight mills; seven of them have been renovated and three, like they did a long time ago, are today able again to grind grains, that in the past were harvested on the sunny slopes of the hills that surrounded the town.
The origins of these buildings were lost during the centuries, but they are certainly very old, just like the first human settlements in the hamlets of the current municipality of La Magdeleine.
The importance of mills in rural economy is confirmed also by the fact that frequently, the right to use windmill for a certain period of time was transferred with the ownership of a field or portion of land.
The peculiarity of mills is also the fact that they were placed in a “chain” form, in order to better use the little water available at the time: this evidently also conditioned the “technology” used: these watermills have a horizontal hydraulic wheel without gears or other mechanisms, as opposed to millstones.
Furthermore, in order to better use the little water available, it was necessary that all eight mills carry out their activities almost at the same time: following this method the result was basically that of multiplying by eight the working capacity of water. Therefore precise “Mill user’s regulations” were set whereby methods and operational timing were established in addition to the rights of participants or owners.
According to a diffused custom, also the mills of La Magdeleine had names that derived from their location, the owners or from the families who let them build.
Starting from the mill on the highest position, the names that were found thanks to the memories of town elders are the following: moulin hatu, moulin d’Arfonse, moulin of Tonne, moulin of Chioset, moulin de la Place, moulin of Mule and moulin of Messelou.

During the summer are open the first three mills to discover with free visits. For groups and school groups it is possible to organize guided tours, contact the qualified tourist guides of the Aosta Valley included in the “regional lists”.

In three of the five hamlets there are public ovens. They belong to the municipality and may be used by following a few simple rules.At Messelod the oven is located on the road a bit before the Chapel of S. Rocco.The oven basically comes with a nice recently renovated rascard and maintains all aspects of an age-old Valdostan oven thanks to a skilful renovation.The opening or “mouth” of the oven has a triangular shape and was made by using a stone for each side of the triangle; on the floor, directly below the mouth a slot was made to gather the embers.On a stone the date 1889 is engraved.Going towards the upper villages, there is a two-storey stone building in the heart of Vieu:a modern renovation of the oven was carried out making it more convenient and functional.The oven is located on the ground floor, whilst an iron and wood staircase leads to the upper floor, where the kneading and leavening room for bread was made.Another recently restored oven is in the hamlet of Artaz, close to the rustic fountain that, going up towards the other villages, is located on the left.Also in this oven, just like the one of Messelod, there isn’t a room dedicated to the kneading and leavening of bread.Long ago, for the self-sufficient characteristics that distinguished the life of a small community like the one in La Magdeleine, in each of the five villages there was certainly one or more private and group ovens.It was tradition that each family would bake the bread that they needed for an entire year in only one occasion, starting from the first days of December.The bread was therefore preserved on wooden racks known as “ratéle” and broken only when it was consumed with a special tool:the “copapan”.The passing of time and lesser use of this tradition have considerably reduced the number of ovens.Those that still work come in different sizes but all have the same building characteristics.You can particularly notice how the front part of the oven guarantees a good shelter against rain or snow.The space used to gather the ashes was always very large. In fact, the ashes were never thrown away but used for “fae bouya”: the household laundry.

This chapel dating from 1739 and created thanks to the will of Anna Maria Vittaz Dujany, isdedicated to Our Lady of the Snow.
Built on a rather sloped land, often requires maintenance work to raise the structure. We recommend a stop at the old churchyard surrounded by stone walls, all lying in the shadow of leafy trees. Access is via a steep, stone stairway that has become worn over time: the panorama before your eyes is splendid both in terms of beauty and serenity.
The fairly bare inside is decorated with a piece depicting the Virgin Mary with Child with a saint and Saint Gratus at her feet.
A few meters away, on the mule track leading to Antey-Saint-André through Herin, one can admire the oratory dedicated to Notre Dame de Tout Pouvoir, built where the plague of 1630 stopped, thereby saving the “magdeleins”.

La Magdeleine was part of the parish of Antey-Saint-André up to 1789. However, as early as 1774 the parish church was erected and dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, which also inspired the name of the municipality.
Already in 1795 the parish priest Joseph Grange had an embankment built around the church to treat the humidity that crawled along the walls. In 1816 the floor were raised by 1.80 metres and resulted in the construction of a 12 step entrance.
Other transformations took place, from the visit of the appointee to Mons. Duc, F. Marco Benchod, who mentioned the restoration work and an extension facing the mountain. In fact, the choir was moved to the east and the nave became more spacious. The work was carried out in 1886, while the current portico dates from a few years ago.

It is the oldest chapel of the village, dedicated to Saint Rocco. Notary documents date its foundation back to the 7th June 1672 on an initiative by Michele Messelod. The building is fairly small in size.
The external facade has three paintings: on the left Saint Rocco with the dog which, according to legend, gives him bread, in the middle Jesus on the Cross and on the rightside Saint Sebastian pierced with arrows. Over these, the symbol of the Divine Trinity and the inscription “year 1827” (an age corresponding to significant restoration works).
Inside, there is an altar piece dated 1673 depicting the Virgin Mary with Saints Rocco and Sebastian to the sides. A large, wooden crucifix is located right in the centre of the chapel, supported by a chain from a beam, in which Jesus is bleeding over his entire body, in line with the usual devotions of that time. Two small wooden and partially gilded statues representing unidentifiable saints complete the sacred furnishing of the chapel.

La Magdeleine in miniature, the embossed plastic in 1:87 scale illustrating faithfully every little detail of the village of the Matterhorn Valley can be admired at the Town Hall.

Its creator, Mario Castelli, “ a retired-artist, has chosen to live in La Magdeleine in 1990, after working for a long time as a glassmaker for prestigious French and Belgian companies. For about twenty years he’s been working four or five hours a day in a room of the town hall to realize a miniature masterpiece, the model of La Magdeleine with its five villages.

Everything has been reproduced: the parish church, the 200 buildings, the town hall, the green areas, roads, mills, streams, even the Magdeleins and holidaymakers (some have recognized themselves, leaning out from balconies, while chatting with each other or walking with the dog…).

La Magdeleine's costume is based on the holiday clothes used by the peasants belonging to the house of Cly, branch of the noble feudal Challand family.

On the apron are depicted, intertwined, five flowers that symbolize the villages of La Magdeleine: the gentian for Messelod, the daisy for Clou, the anemone for Brengon, the scrub rose for Vieu, the edelweiss for Artaz. The costume is completed by a white wool shawl and a cap on which only the flower relating to the village to which the costume refers is embroidered.