Heritage: Champoluc/Ayas/Antagnod

“Rascard” are buildings typical to the Val d’Ayas. They are made of squared and stripped pine, fir and larch logs, notched together at the corners. These buildings were once exclusively used to store cereal and were designed to prevent humidity from forming and rodents from entering. The strategies adopted to solve these problems varied according to the type. In the most widespread and popular model, the rascard is supported by a series of “mushrooms”, wood columns about 70 cm long, often crown by a “losa” disk (flat stone, normally used for roofing). In other cases, like in the villages of Extrepiéraz or Mascognaz, harvests were protected by place a series of “lose” around the “rascard”, protruding beyond the base with a 40 centimetre high layer of fine plaster.
“Concentrated” rascard are buildings at least three stories high with two-story brick bases. The stables and cellar were on the ground floor. The middle floor was used as the house, clearly divided in two rooms, the “majòn” and the “péillo”, mainly used in the summer due to the high upward heat dispersion since the third floor of the rascard was suspended on the “mushrooms”. To fight off the cold, the family moved to the “gabenet”, a small area in the stable used as living quarters. The living quarters was usually in the brightest part, next to the door and near windows, and was separated from the stables by a low plank wall. Wood planks were also used to line walls and the floor. An iron cook stove, buckets of water in a corner, a folding table to save space, a bench and chest resting on the beds against the walls, gas lamps and a few shelves furnished the “gabenet” where the family lived for a few months during the year, preferring the animals’ company to the cold.
There are beautiful examples of rascard in the following villages: Frantse, Cunéaz, St. Jacques, Blanchard, Pilaz, Antagnod , Lignod, Mascognaz, Péio, Pra-Sec, Magnechoulaz, Mandrou in the municipality of Ayas; Extrepiéraz, Pasquier and Graines in the municipality of Brusson; Isollaz in the municipality of Challand St. Victor.

The craftsmen of the Aosta valley traditionally used the term “l’Artisanà” to refer to the shop in the centre of Aosta where the products displayed during the Sant’Orso Craft Fair were taken for sale once the fair was over. Thus, the Institut Valdôtain de l’Artisanat de Tradition has decided to make this name its communication brand, combining the cultural and commercial sectors of its activity.
Today there are four Artisanà boutiques spread all over the region, providing an original showcase for a living, evolving craft industry rooted in tradition.
The boutiques de L’Artisanà offer tourists and aficionados the chance to take home an authentic piece of the Aosta Valley: objects crafted in wood, earthenware and wrought iron, as well as textiles and ceramics, testifying to the traditions of our region that stretch back thousands of years.

The boutique in Ayas
The boutique is located in Antagnod, at an altitude of 1699 metres a.s.l., in a delightful little village offering matchless views over Monte Rosa. It can be found inside “La Maison de l’Ours”, the home of the mountain dweller who killed the last bear in the Aosta Valley, in the style and size of typical of local building traditions. In addition, inside is a restored traditional oven that used to be used for baking bread.
In this appealing historical boutique, visitors can choose from a selection of quality objects shaped by skilled craftsmen.

Opening times:

July and August
from Monday to Sunday 10-13 / 14.30-19.30
Monday 5th July closed.

September
from Wednesday to Sunday 10-12.30 / 15.30-19.30
closed from 27 to 30 September.

October
Saturday and Sunday 10-12.30 / 15.30-19.30

November
Monday 1 and 2 November 10-12.30 / 15.30-19.30

Opening times are subject to variations: we advice to verify them before the visit (see the “Contacts” area).

In the historical centre of Antagnod, you will find one of the most beautiful rustic houses of the whole of Val d’Aosta: the famous “Maison Fournier”, which is still magnificently preserved. This small fortified house was once property of the Counts of Challant.
Overlooking the street is a beautiful wooden balcony supported by struts and flanked by a cylindrical tower with three windows with reverse keel decoration. In the mid-15th century the house was inhabited by the lord of Challant. A point of interest: the foot attached to the balcony is said to be that of the last bear killed in the valley during the last century.
Today the house is the seat of the Aosta Valley Institute of Local Craftsmanship.

Located in the small district of Bisous, just 1 Km from Antagnod; it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snow, celebrated on the 5th of August.

CHAPEL OF S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA: this beautiful chapel is situated in the district of Lignod di Ayas, on its facade it has a painting by Franz Curta from Gressoney, dated 1875. The theme shows “Universal Judgement”.

CHAPEL OF PILAZ: the district of Pilaz is approximately 3 km before Champoluc. The chapel, which dates back to 1746, is dedicated to Michael the Archangel.

CHAPEL OF BISOUS: situated in the small district of Bisous, 1 Km from Antagnod, it is dedicated to the Madonna delle Nevi, celebrated on the 5th of August.

CHAPEL OF PRACHARBON: dedicated to St. Martin, it dates back to 1736 and rises up in the middle of the forest, along the old dirt road that links Ayas to Brusson. It is only visible from the outside.

The chapel dates from two very different ages: the presbytery, with its vault and ribbed ceiling, is dated to the end of the XV century - from the age of the great merchant George of Challant, and in fact the Challant coat of arms is found on the vault keystone leading one to believe that the family continued to contribute to the construction of the chapel, while the nave dates from the XVIII century. The chapel is named after the Visitation. The main altar is in carved wood that is painted and partly gilded. At the centre of four twisted columns, the statue of the Virgin with Child, on the left St. Paul and to the right St. Barbara. Up high, St. Peter pontificates from a central hollow.

Dedicated to Maria Auxilium Christianorum. The chapel was built by the parish priest Dandrès in 1840. It appears that on Palm Sunday the chapel was visited to bless the olive palms, a tradition that continues to present day.

Only the lower part of the perimeter walls and the choir remains of the primitive church with three naves and enormous pillars and centred arches. The presbytery was raised first around 1600 when the first Baroque altar was built, then again in 1700, when this altar was restored and given its current dimensions. The three naves were demolished in the vaults, in the pillars and in the upper section of the perimeter walls in 1851, by the parish priest Dandrès, who then replaced the pillars with beautiful monolithic columns made of local stone, before then raising the entire building. With their harmonious structure, the vaults are meant to give a certain impetus to the entire church. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, the new church was consecrated on the 24th of October 1852.

Interesting details

- Main altar: the fruit of various centuries of work (1500-1800), it is divided up horizontally into three strips. The central zone is from the beginning of the 18th century (but the five statues in the alcoves are certainly older and may be attributed to the 16th century). The lower and upper zones were created in 1713 by the carvers Gilardi and Minaldi from Valsesia. Around the middle of the 19th century, the parish priest Dandrès had the tabernacle remade. The altar was consecrated on the 29th of May 1716.

- Baptistry: sculpted in 1838, during the era of the parish priest Dandrès, it shows the scene of Saint John the Baptist baptising Jesus as the Holy Spirit, in the form of dove, lands on Jesus and the Father, surrounded by angles says: “This is my chosen son, listen to him”.

- Pulpit: in walnut, it contains sculptures of certain scenes from the Gospel. Above the pulpit there is a sort of canopy that was used to diffuse the voice of the preacher.

- Choir: made of walnut, it has twelve sculpted heads, which are characteristic and highly expressive in their genre.

- Bell tower: probably built at the same time as the church, in the 15th century. In 1856-57 the archpriest Dandrès had its rise demolished, he re-raised it by 10 metres and added a Byzantine style dome, under which he positioned a marble statue of the Immaculate Virgin. He then enriched the bell tower with a magnificent concert of ten bells, tuned in to each other, which form a stupendous “carillon” during days of celebration. The bell tower is 49 metres high.

- Side altars: on the right, beginning from the entrance, the altar of St. Anselm and that of St. Joseph, from the 19th century, the altar of the Virgin, from the 17th century, reworked during the nineteenth century, with a statue of the Madonna of Oropa. On the left, at the entrance, the altar of St. Anthony and the altar of the Rosary, from the 19th century, the altar of the Most Blessed Trinity, from the 17th century, re-worked during the nineteenth century. The canvas by the painter Curtax of Gressoney is from this era, it shows the Trinity and the Holy Family.

- Portal: from 1839, made of walnut, it shows the events of the life of St. Martin of Tours. The famous scene of sharing the cloak with the poor man, depicted on the lunette above the door, is older (1779).

- Windows: dating from the early years of the 20th century.

A sacred art museum has been created near the parish church, in the chapel of the cemetery of Antagnod, dating back to the end of the 15th century.

In the square, immediately after the bridge, there are two churches side by side, both dedicated to Sant’Anna. The oldest of the two already existed in 1659, but was rebuilt and completed with a bell tower in 1715. Here in 1770 a school was founded, with the obligation to teach Latin up to third class. It was then interdicted in 1821 due to its miserable conditions, but it re-emerged in 1840 thanks to the work of the parish priest of Ayas, D’Andrès. In 1946 it became independent from Antagnod. The new church was consecrated by the bishop of Aosta, Monsignor Lari, on the 30th of August 1970.

INTERESTING DETAILS
- The main altar and the two side altars are from the eighteenth century: they are made of wood and have good carvings.
This altar was transported to the new church
- Some precious objects originating from the mother church of Antagnod

Dedicated to St. Martin, dating from 1736 and built amid woodland, along an old mule track linking Ayas to Brusson. Visible only from outside.

Barmasc is a district upstream of Antagnod, at an altitude of 1,828 metres. The sanctuary, dedicated to “Notre-Dame du Bon Secours”, immediately attracted crowds of pilgrims from far off parishes: the processions are still well known that arrived in the past from La Magdeleine, Chamois, Antey and the two Challands, to appeal for rain, which often came. A preferred rite was to immerge the cross in water that sprang from under the chapel. On the 15th July 1990 the sanctuary witnessed its greatest moment, with a visit from Pope John Paul II. The characteristic and picturesque footpath  (nr. 105) leading to the sanctuary starts from Ville Rivetti in Antagnod.

Situated in the Periasc district of Ayas, the chapel was restored by the parish priest Dandrès in 1861, as one can read on the facade: “Commencee et mise a couvert en 1861 finie en 1863 et benie le 11 octobre meme annee”; a dedication over the door reads “A la plus grande gloire de Dieu a l’honneur de l’immaculee et des glorieux S. Pierre et S. Defendent”.

Questa corale è nata nel 2002. Il nome evoca le comunità sorte lungo la val d’Ayas che trae vita proprio dal ghiacciaio del Monte Rosa. Nella corale sono rappresentati quattro comuni: Ayas,Brusson, Challand Saint-Anselme e Challand Saint-Victor.
Direttore: Valter Choucher

Direttore: Valter Chouquer.
Il coro nasce nel 1999 da in’idea del maestro e di alcune mamme.Il coro è composto da bimbi con una età compresa tra i sei e i quattordici anni. Nel 2000 il coro coinvolge anche i bimbi di Ayas, Challand Saint-Victor e di Challand Saint-Anselme raddoppiando così il numero dei cantori. A giugno di ogni anno il coro organizza il baby festival canoro di primavera invitando altri gruppi.Il coro ha partecipato a diverse manifestazioni quali Telethon, l’adunata nazionale degli alpini,la presentazione dei cortrometraggi, Fete internazionale du Patois et des Emigrés. Attualmente il coro è composto da 30 bambini, dirige Valter Choucher e i loro canti sono accompagnati da una fisarmonica o una tastiera suonata da Leonardo Rous.

It was winter 1782. One evening, while the snow was falling, a strong mountain dweller from Champoluc, Matteo Brunod, known as “lo rey” (the king) for his Herculean strength, was heading towards Saint-Jacques: he was having a hard time walking due to the thick layer of snow when, all of a sudden, a huge bear appeared in front of him. The bear threw itself against Matteo and, with its big front paws against his shoulders, opened its jaws to devour him. The mountain dweller, however, did not lose his cool: he threw his head back to avoid the beast’s bite then, with his hands, he took hold of the bear’s neck and squeezed with all his might until it fell to the ground. “Lo rey’s” quickness was the subject of many conversations and the entire town population went to see the monster that had put Brunod’s strength to test. He hung the bear’s two paws on the front door of his rascard as a trophy. Today one of those paws can still be seen hanging under the balcony of the “Maison Fournier” in Antagnod. The maison is the head office of the shop “L’Artisanà” (Valdostan Institute of Typical Handicrafts).

The museum is in the chapel of the cemetery of Antagnod (end of the 15th century), near the parish church of San Martino.
The chapel was also used as the headquarters of the various confraternities within the parish and contained a canvas belonging to the confraternity of the Most Blessed Trinity, which is now exhibited in the nearby parish church.
On the facade of the Chapel of the cemetery, there are a statue of the Madonna of the Rosary and a large Cross with symbols of the instruments of torture used in the passion of Jesus.

Exhibited works of art:

- Altar of the chapel (mid 17th century), reproducing an ecclesiastic building, the work of a Valsesian sculptor.

- Various statues of the Virgin, saints and angels.

- Pairs of Reliquary Busts (18th century) in carved wood, painted and gilded.

- Chasubles (vestments for the celebration of Mass).

- Various astylar crosses (mounted on a wooden pole to be carried in front of the processions).

- Various objects for liturgical use (chalices, monstrances, carteglorias).

- Image of the “Madonna de Barmasc” on painted cardboard.

The museum hosts moreover a Vierge ouvrante (Virgin with casket) from the middle of the 1300’s, which was found in the parish church of Antagnod. It’s a rare Madonna and Child, with the white and gold dress of Notre-Dame de Antagnod concealing the true identity of the wooden statue: the Black Madonna opens up to reveal a Trinity inside, a God Father holding up a crucifix with his arms raised above his head and the crudeness of blood painted on his suffering body. On the open doors, two angels hold up the Gospel and bow down before the Trinity. This statue, the only one found in the Aosta Valley, was known as Notre-Dame d’Antagnod, referred to as miraculous in ancient documents: following this hypothesis, some sources reveal that Jeanne Boch, accused in the trial for witchcraft in 1561, brought her stillborn baby there to ask for the gates of Heaven to be opened to him. There are only about forty Vierges ouvrantes throughout the world, which escaped from the ecclesiastic condemnation of 1745 because of theological reasons (within the Virgin Mary only Christ was incarnated, not the whole Trinity).

Today we can see the typical Ayas costume worn on the occasion of festivals or solemnities or by local folk groups.

The authentic costume was composed as follows:

men:
- trousers made of cloth, velvet or cloth, narrow and short, buttoned at the bottom, just below the knee, or even tied with colored wool ties
- jacket also made of black fabric, cloth or velvet; it was elegant, with flaps, with two buttons at the top of the back slit, two on each side on the flaps, with pleats, and another six on the double breasted
- waistcoat of black or even white cloth, double-breasted, with two rows of metal buttons, shiny like gold
- black felt headdress, with wide brims.
- white shirt, made of hemp or hemp and cotton
- tie consisted of a silk neckerchief, variously colored with flowers or checks, to which a nice big knot was tied
- both men and women wore long white wool socks and wore "sabots", typical wooden clogs;

women:
- bust supporting the skirt, composed of a double hemp lining, in the middle of which there were vertical ribs of sorghum or raffia filaments, with strong stitching of hemp thread between one and the other. on the outside, with side stitching, it was covered with fabric similar to that of the skirt
- skirt of fine fabric for brides, while the one in common use was made of rougher wool, spun and woven at home. The shape was squat: it had large and rigid accordion folds on the back and gave women an awkward appearance, at least according to today's aesthetic standards. At the bottom of the skirt, a hem approximately 10 cm wide was placed inside. colourful, green or red.
- very short bolero over the skirt.
- apron made of mostly gingham, with printed floral designs, straight on the front with a rectangular-shaped raised lapel, supported on the chest by two pins: it was tied at the waist with a ribbon and was made by hand, with a precision, uniformity and finesse of points to make you wonder.
- over them they wore a white shirt and over their shoulders they put a large silk scarf with fringes in sumptuous and bright colours.