Heritage: Cogne

The Visitor Center of the Gran Paradiso National Park of Cogne Laboratory Park presents the complex and dynamic evolution of the protected area as in a laboratory of experimentation: explanatory models, multimedia systems, interactive games and an original “sensory space” that offers visitors the opportunity to appreciate the scents of nature and hear the characteristic sounds of the woods.
The main idea revolves around the concept of land use and management, which is only possible by means of an in-depth knowledge of the environmental data.

The themes developed in the Cogne Visitor Center are:

• water: the models show the effects that water has on the territory, they illustrate some flood events and describe the interaction between human settlements and the hydrogeological aspects
• forest and pasture: a “multimedia” immersion into the life of the woodcutter and the simulation of important choices for the maintenance of the forest
• fauna and man: the manner in which man and animals interact.

The center also hosts two interesting thematic set-ups devoted to the wolf and to the ibex, respectively

The exhibition itinerary does not have an obligatory linear pathway: choose your own “path” according to your interests and to the level of in-depth study you wish to make.

Audio guide mp3

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 Cogne

The boutique can be found on the pedestrian street named after one of the most important figures in the history of the Aosta Valley, César Emmanuel Grappein (1772-1855). Close to the Gran Paradiso National Park it is nestled between the highest peaks in Europe and visited by thousands of tourists each year. The boutique is an invitation for craft aficionados to take home an authentic piece of the Aosta Valley.

Opening times:

July and August
from Monday to Sunday 10-12.30 / 14.30-19.30
Closed on Monday 5th July.

September
from Wednesday to Sunday 9.30-12.30 / 15.30-19.00
closed from 27 to 30 September.

October
Saturday and Sunday 9.30-12.30 / 15.30-19.00

November
Monday 1 and 2 November 10-12.30 / 15-19

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

Situated west of the village of Epinel, at the centre of an important crossroads, the Castle of Tamberel was built in 1198. Also known as “Tor de Mougne”, it belonged to the noble Chesallet family of Sarre, who during the 13th century handed over their assets to the Count-Bishops, who in turn enfeoffed them to the Moni di Epinel, ministers and men faithful to the prelate of Aosta.
Near the construction, while has an outdoor courtyard, the village of Tamberel grew up, and was probably composed of two neighbourhoods: Mougne and Croix. The administrative centre of the fief of Epinel, Tarambel was entitled to elect its own representatives, within the group of those representing the Community of Cogne. Towards the beginning of the 16th century, the village was gradually abandoned, perhaps as a result of the drought that afflicted the area, so the inhabitants chose to populate the four scattered corners of Epinel, eventually being incorporated into it and becoming one large village.

Situated in the centre of the town, next to the church, the building dates back to the start of the period of the episcopal lords (12-13th century).
It was later bought an reconstructed by Victor Emmanuel II, who used it as a residence, while ibex hunting in the valley of Cogne.
The building is now a residence.

The parish is placed under the protection of Sant’Orso, a priest from Aosta Valley who lived between the 7th and 8th century. Popular tradition affirms that he is said to have been the saint who reclaimed the area, which was originally uninhabitable. The canons of the Aosta collegiate of Sant’Orso may have played an important role in this sense, the parish seems to have been managed by them already in 1884. The canons held the parish until 1820, the year in which all rights were transferred to the bishop.

In 1642 the building took on its current appearance, following the extension works. The bell tower was built in 1840, after the old one was knocked due to problems relating to height and stability. The church has a regular shape. The interior, which has a single nave, redecorated by Pirlato in 1960, conserves precious altars from the eighteenth century in gilded sculpted wood, with Solomonic columns.

The folk singing group “Lou Tintamaro de Cogne” was first established in 1957, with the aim of preserving the unique and characteristic cultural heritage of the village of Cogne.
The fil rouge of the group’s activities is the expression of a genuine culture, inherited from their forebears, who in past centuries used to gather together during the “veillà” evenings to talk about their lives, their problems, and often to sing the typical local tunes. This search for genuine, original elements forms the basis of the philosophy of Lou Tintamaro, whose repertoire has been carefully selected over recent years and is the fruit of a patient research into the oldest, most typical songs of the area, and whose costumes are a faithful reproduction of those worn by the cogneins from the 17th century until the middle of the last century (1950 – 1955).
The folk group, which currently has around 45 members, continues to use dance, songs, sounds and colours to transmit their passion for the ancient, original cultural message of the cogneins.
The cheerful, sometimes burlesque, rhythm of songs and dances is accompanied by the drums -“tambur”- made of chamois leather and decorated with colourful ribbons on the outside and little bells on the inside, and by the accordions, creating an attractive, genuine, lively backdrop.
The women wear skirts made in heavy black “drap” fabric with large pleats, a specially wax-coated apron folded at the front, a stiffly starched white shirt adorned with a pillow lace collar, red and green ribbons to tie the apron, a necklace featuring several strands of coloured glass beads called “couro”, a little chain that attaches the top part of the apron onto the chest, a small black bonnet with long ribbons, a brown or black woollen scarf edged with brightly coloured flowers and shoes laced up high over the ankles; the costume is completed with a heavy red and black underskirt and knee breeches adorned with lace.
The men, on the other hand, wear trousers and a waistcoat made from black “drap” fabric, a white shirt with pleats at the front, a sweater in raw white wool with red and green edges, pompoms of the same colour worn as a tie, a black hat adorned with a mirror and the “bosquet” (bunch of flowers) and clogs with a wooden sole that help to mark the rhythm for the dances.
Since its foundation, the group has taken part in a thousand or so events in Valle d’Aosta (the first of which was the annual Regional Assembly of Choral Groups of Valle d’Aosta, in spring 1958, with around 60 members), as well as in many other towns and cities in Italy and abroad (in Britain, Austria, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Japan…), and has also taken part in the TV show “Fiera dei Sogni” and the film “Grande Slalom per una rapina”.
Lou Tintamaro recorded an album in the Seventies, as well as two CDs: “Pin – Pin” in 1998 and “Mélodies retrouvées” in 2007. A volume was published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the group’s foundation: “Cogne e il suo cuore musicale. Canti e balli ai piedi del Gran Paradiso”, by Patrizia Guichardaz.

Under the artistic direction of Mr. Erik Val and accompanied by other volounteers, about fourty kids and children from 6 to 16 years liven up the private and public occasions and diffuse the “cognein“ soul.
The group, created in the nineteen seventies, was then officially set up in1992.
The repertoire, similar to the one performed by the adults’s group, proposes bals and songs played with the accordion and the traditional Cogne drum.

The exhibition is dedicated to the powerful works of Dorino Ouvrier, the sculptor who draws incredible stories of work and labour, legends and peasant festivals, and everyday life within the deeply rooted tradition that gives life and substance to existence.

Dorino Ouvrier was born in Cogne on 13 may 1948.
He took part in the Valdostan wood fairs between 1976 and 1986, winning numerous awards.

Maison Gérard Dayné is one of the best examples of Aosta Valley traditional architecture.
This particularly complex structure has been carefully restored. You can see the “cor”, the internal covered area that is typical of Cogne houses, the “beu”, the main room used in domestic life and the large barns which will house a long-term theme exhibition in the future.
Maison Gérard Dayné is a place where memories help to reflect on the conservation and valorisation of the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of the Alpine communities.

Situated in Sonveulla, on the edge of the ancient village, the structure, highly representative of local rural architecture, is a group of eight buildings arranged into an L-shape. Its current aspect dates back to the first half of the 19th century, at the end of a process of expansion that had begun possibly before the 18th century.
The varied nature of the complex and its specific characteristics, typical of the rural architecture of Cogne, are well suited to house a museum that tells the story of the traditional architecture, homes, family life, agricultural organisation and forest environment, mines, objects, sacred art, beliefs, legends, language and literature of Aosta Valley in former times.

Co-working service
Maison Gérard Dayné offers a corner where people who need working or studying can do it in tranquillity (reservation is recommended).

The mine presented as a mix of stories, sounds and emotions.

A few steps from the centre of Cogne you can visit an interesting exhibition on the extraction of minerals in the Aosta Valley region.

The complex of the miners’ village, reachable by taking the road that climbs towards the village of Gimillan, houses the museum in the main building in front of the square and in the one adjacent to the arrival of the old mine buckets.

In addition to an overview of the places where these precious minerals are found in the Aosta Valley (Brusson, Cogne, La Thuile, Ollomont, Saint-Marcel) you can relive the experience of life in the mine, in particular in the Cogne deposits: workplaces, the difficulty of tunnel operations up to the last journey of the extracted material to Aosta for its transformation.

Experiences and stories surround the visitor: a leap in time and history to the sound of the pickaxe.

Exhibition and sale of handmade lace according to an ancient tradition.

Valuable and sophisticated lace from Cogne tell the tale of an ancient story covering four centuries with its subtle patterns. It started in 1665. At that time, some Benedictine nuns fled to Aosta Valley from the monastery in Cluny and were hosted in different towns of the region, where they taught local women the art of pillow-lace work. Over the centuries, the packaging of pillow-lace work in Cogne, was handed down from mother to daughter exclusively via teaching and direct experience, unlike similar French and Belgian productions that made use of cardboard pieces reproducing the various designs.
Having miraculously reached the present day, despite or as a result of this fragile connection, the art of pillow-lace work also represents the tenacious bond that people in Aosta Valley have to tradition.
The skilful female companies interweave motifs with the extremely fast play of spindles on the circular cushion of lace making (a circle, the “coessein”, stuffed with straw and wool, supported by its singular “cavalot” a wooden piece of furniture sculpted with the classic rose motif, Christ’s monogram and the year of workmanship as well as the name of its first owner). The interweaving with linen thread is created by working with numerous spindles.
From the pillow lace, to which the work is attached through pins with multicoloured pin heads, stem amazing designs of animals, flowers, etc…

Nowdays in Cogne, 40 women working in cooperative Les Dentellières de Cogne, produce about 1.500 meters precious lace per year.

This is a tradition still very much alive and of particular significance for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Epinel.
On the afternoon of 1st November, the young unmarried men (and in recent years, also the women) of the village head for the bell tower of the little church, where they ring the bell and throw sweets to the children, marking the beginning of celebrations that will come to a close later in the evening, after a convivial dinner.

REBATTA: è un gioco della tradizione popolare valdostana, probabilmente di origine pastorale. Il nome rebatta significa letteralmente “ribattere”; il gioco consiste nel lanciare il più lontano possibile una pallina.
Strumenti di gioco:
- “rebatta”: una pallina di legno, appesantita con chiodini;
- “fioletta”: strumento di legno a forma di pipa, con la funzione di leva per alzare in aria la pallina;
- “masetta”: un bastone lungo 100/120 cm. utilizzata per colpire prima la pipa e poi la pallina.
Il campo di gioco è un prato pianeggiante privo di ostacoli; è tracciato a forma di cono, partendo da un vertice, su due assi. La lunghezza complessiva minima è di 180 metri. I punti sono segnati ogni 15 metri.
Esiste un campionato regionale di “Rebatta” suddiviso in categorie (dalla 1^ alla 5^), al quale prendono parte squadre composte da 5 persone più una riserva, rappresentanti i diversi comuni della Valle d’Aosta (Cogne partecipa generalmente con 2 formazioni).

TSENFIOLET: testimonianze orali individuano nel gioco, praticato ancora oggi nella valle di Cogne, l’antenato dell’attuale Rebatta. Il campo di gioco era tracciato a passi su tre assi. La lunghezza complessiva era di circa 120 metri e i punti erano segnati ogni 20 passi.

PALET COUGNEIN: è più antico rispetto al palet regionale, anche se consiste sempre nell’uso di piattelli metallici in modo simile alle bocce. I campi da gioco sono ricavati su strade in terra battuta, non sono tracciati e quindi sprovvisti di linee di fondo e laterali. Al centro della strada sono infissi due paletti (“Bouma”) in legno sporgenti distanti tra loro 12 passi; questa particolarità è praticata, però, esclusivamente nella località di Gimillan, mentre nelle altre località della valle di Cogne il boccino classico sostituisce la “bouma”. Nei lanci la traiettoria dei palet è radente, per cui il palet tocca il suolo, di piatto, un paio di metri prima del boccino, per poi continuare la sua corsa. A Cogne il gioco del palet è ancora praticato sia dagli adulti che dai giovani, e le sfide tra residenti delle varie frazioni animano diverse giornate nei mesi estivi.

This is an accordion brought into the valley by the cogneins who emigrated to nearby France in search of work. Over the years, the “lou clavacin” has carved out a role for itself as the instrument used to liven up the singing and dancing during feast days and celebrations in Cogne, so much so that it has become the typical instrument associated with the village.
Cogne is the only place in Valle d’Aosta where people play the typically French chromatic accordion, which is very different from the more common, more popular piano accordion. Proof of the importance that “lou clavacin“ has acquired in Cogne is provided by the fact that a large number of young people today continue studying this difficult, demanding instrument; each spring, the community hosts the “Feta di clavacin“, during which over 60 accordionists from the village show off their musical skills and devotion to the instrument.

This costume was once worn every day, especially by the local women, up until at least the Second World War, while today its use is reserved only for festivals and events, or performances by the local folk group.

The women’s costume, the like of which is found nowhere else in Valle d’Aosta (although a similar costume exists in the Val Soana, in the neighbouring Piemonte region), is characterised by a wide black skirt made from a thick, rough fabric that was once woven in the village, with a high waist, puffed out at the back and covered at the front by an apron in glossy black fabric, folded upwards, which reaches up to the chest. This austere ensemble is contrasted by the white shirt, with a starched, pleated pillow lace collar, hand made by the local women. Several strands of coloured glass beads are worn around the neck, with a cross hanging from them.

The men’s costume is composed of a white woollen sweater, open at the front, with red and green edges and pompoms of the same colours on the white shirt, worn with black trousers and a black waistcoat.
The black, white, red and green of the costumes (the women’s costume features ribbons in the latter two colours) forms an attractive colour combination.