Churches and shrines: Issime

Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows
It is located in Mühni, at an altitude of 2006 meters, at the bottom of the valley of San Grato, where the path that leads to the Colle del Dondeuil begins.
Built as an ex-voto by the Chouquer brothers, who survived an avalanche, it was consecrated in 1667.
The chapel is open on August 5th on the occasion of the Holy Mass for the Lady of the Snows.

Chapel of San Grato
This chapel, of ancient origin and rebuilt in 1701, gives its name to the entire valley and is located in the village of Chröiz.
It was a meeting place for the population of Issime who lived in the “Tiers de la Montagne”, one of the three parts into which the territory of Issime was divided up until the beginning of the 1700s. It was the families of the village, led by the master mason Pierre Christillin, who built the current building in the early 1700s.
The chapel certainly existed in more ancient times, as it was mentioned in the famous “trial of the devil”, drawn up in 1601.
Inside, the architrave with wooden statues of the Madonna and San Grato and the painted and gilded wooden altar of the seventeenth century are well worth mentioning.
In the past, the feast of Santa Barbara on December 4th was the occasion for men returning from seasonal emigration to France and Switzerland to gather in this chapel. The chapel cannot be visited inside, but San Grato is a beautiful corner of Issime and is worth a visit.

Chapel of Saint Margaret
Located in the valley of San Grato, it seems to have been built in the seventeenth century at the behest of the inhabitants after a famous trial of the Devil. In fact, according to the legend, after the earthquake of 1600, every effort was made to drive out the “Devil” from Issime, as it was considered responsible for this natural event. A real trial was carried out and two priests were called from Biella, the canon Morra and the parish priest Serra, who pronounced the exorcisms of the rite. After a long conversation, which lasted three days, between the two believers and the devil, the latter left and the inhabitants fulfilled their vows. Thus the chapel in honor of Santa Margherita was built, located in the hamlet of Buart.
The current building, rebuilt in 1740, has a wooden altar with coiled columns. Near the chapel, it is possible to admire a fountain with a stone basin, dated 1593.

Chaper of Saint Nicolas at Bioley
Located in the hamlet of Bioley, the chapel seems to date back to the 15th century, although the current construction dates back to 1621 and was erected at the behst of Jean-Pierre Lyonettaz and the Stefanyn brothers.
It has two eighteenth-century wooden statues, one of Saint Nicolas and one of Saint Rocco, restored in 1867 by Giovanni Guala.
The place-name Bioley derives from the patois “bioula” (birch) and is also the patronym of a noble family from Issime. The chapel cannot be visited inside.

The first reliable documents regarding the parish church of Saint James of Issime date back to a Papal bull in 1184, in which it appears among the churches dependant on the Collegiate of Sant’Orso. The parish of Issime, which also included Gaby and the two of Gressoney, was then entrusted to the convent of Saint-Gilles in Verrès, on which it depended until 1674.

Interesting elements:

• the façade, decorated between 1698 and 1700 with the fresco of the Last Judgment, with the wooden portal sculpted at the 17th century, above which there is a niche containing a wooden statue of Saint James, patron saint of Issime together with Saint Sebastian;
• the fifteen little chapels in the churchyard, painted with the Mysteries of Jesus;
• the main altar in Baroque style realized at the beginning of the 18th century, decorated by 182 statues and angels in gilded wood.

The sacred art museum
Dressed at the bottom of the church, it was inaugurated in 1986. Among the oldest objects, dating back to the 1400’s, there is the wooden statue of Saint James, with gigantic hands, example of the best popular art from Aosta Valley.
Numerous works of art bear witness to the contacts that the valley had through the years with the surrounding regions and the countries of Northern Europe: the statue of Saint James (15th century), originating from Southern Germany or South Tyrol, the statue of Saint Lucy and the Madonna of the altar of the Rosary (16th century), of Tyrolian origin, the statue of Saint Barbara (16th century) which has noteworthy similarities to contemporary works from Svevia.
Among the works of art originating from the chapels, we would like to mention the Madonna of the chapel of Mühnes (valley of San Grato), with magnificent Baroque style drapery.
The museum also includes a section of silverware, with an interesting repoussé reliquary dating from 1675, embossed with chisel and burin work.