Heritage: Lillianes, Perloz, Pont-Saint-Martin, ** Valle d'Aosta **

Su tutto il territorio della Valle d’Aosta gli abitanti parlano abitualmente il “patois”, un dialetto francoprovenzale. Esso presenta terminologie e cadenze che variano da Comune a Comune in conseguenza delle influenze francesi, vallesane, walser e piemontesi subite nel corso dei secoli. Il vocalismo della parlata è di tipo provenzale ed il consonantismo è di tipo francese. Le affinità maggiori sono riscontrabili nei dialetti
parlati nelle regioni francesi della Savoia e della Provenza, e nella Svizzera Romanda. Verrès è l’unico dei Comuni in cui non si parla il patois, ma per i suoi contatti con il vicino Canavese, gli abitanti parlano tra di loro il dialetto piemontese. Da alcuni decenni si cerca di mantenere vivo e valorizzare il patois.

Built on the foundations of an old chapel dating back to 1490, the new Parish Chruch of Saint Roch was completed in 1723.
The interior of the parish church is quite large, it has three naves, separated by two rows of stone pillars. The main altar is Baroque, created in 1763 by the sculptor J.B. Gilardi and his son Giuseppe, it is a veritable sculpture masterpiece. There are no less than four side altars, they too are in Baroque style, in gilded wood, you can also admire some statues dedicated to Saint Joseph, Saint Anthony and Saint Vergine. The bust on the altar is commemorative of the bishop of Aosta, Giovanni Battista Jans (1764-1847), a native of Lillianes. The stone portal has a gothic “goccia rovesciata” motif (meaning upturned drop). The cemetery stands alongside the church.

Collection of tools and objects and different zonal species of chestnut.

The Perloz wine press is an interesting witness to the history of viticulture and rural traditions of the area.
The pressing allowed for the extraction, by pressing, of the liquid part from the marc, what remained at the end of the alcoholic fermentation after the wine had been tapped from the tuns.
The shaft is made up of a huge chestnut beam of 7.3 meters in length which moved thanks to the screw placed at the end of the longer arm.
The ancient press, now restored, is located in a long and narrow room, with free access.

THE HISTORY OF THE PRESS
The oldest part of the building can be traced back to the 16th century.
In the 17th century the land on which the press was built belonged to the Vallaise estate. Archive research attests the ownership to the Gavy family who, having contracted various debts, had to sell all of their assets to creditors by order of the judge in 1781.
Thus, the building passed to the Glésaz brothers, a family that would retain the ownership of the press until the 19th century.
Between 1790 and 1812 the building underwent a global reconstruction, clearly recognizable on the east wall.
The press worked regularly until the 1920s, ending its activity for the drastic reduction of viticulture.
Although inactive, the press remained in good condition until the end of the Second World War when a devastating fire started by the Nazi-fascists on 30 June 1944, during a retaliation against the partisans, definitively compromised its structure.

On reaching Crétaz di Miochaz, two routes branch out from where you can park your car, both leading to the last villages in Perloz that are described as inaccessible because in the past you had to go up and come down from them only on foot.
They seem like “eagle’s nests”, but easy pathways take you uphill in several minutes of hiking.

On the section upstream from Crétaz, above a large terrace that overlooks the central valley and the Canavese plain, you can find Varfey. This small village is unusual because it straddles the border line between the towns of Perloz and Lillianes and the letters P / L are impressed on the pathways and walls.

On a lower level, Chemp is a settlement on a rocky high ground smoothed down by glaciers on the border with chestnut orchards.
Proud shapes of large stone constructions from the end of the XIX century stand out on the countryside while alongside stands a tiny immaculate chapel and simpler, older rural constructions.

In* Varfey*, some barns remind us of the cereal producing role played by the surrounding abandoned terraces, while in Chemp, a magnificent XVII century barn stands alongside a home whose facade has been embellished by an arched porch.

Far from the frenetic context of daily city life, these villages are an oasis of peace, still inhabited in certain periods of the year. Work is still done in the stable or sculpting laboratory. Among the houses of the village of Chemp you can visit an open-air museum with works by various artists.
It is a good idea to tip-toe by.

The villages of Chemp and Varfey can now be reached by car (Varfey from Lillianes and Chemp from Perloz).

In Spring, an amazing flower grows in Col Fenêtre at Perloz (1670 m): the peony. The area is part of the “Natura 2000” ecological network.
The well equipped path that takes you there in 20 minutes, runs alongside two villages that will delight lovers of traditional architecture: Pesse, settlement on a gently sloping terrace above the Nantey Valley, is mostly populated in the summer season, while the village of Fenêtre, clinging to the slope once dedicated to agropastoralism, has been abandoned.

Put in action by the water of the “ru” (irrigation canal) of Marine, the mill of Glacières (or Giassère) is very old, as evidenced by the dates engraved in some parts of the structure. he first documentary reference dates back to 1501 and it is in the deed of enfeoffment of the mill tenants by the lords of Vallaise.

The mill then passed from private to community management by the village of Marine, which installed a new millstone in the early 1600s.
The community rented the mill to the tenants who had to guarantee the maintenance of the mill and also of the stream. Payments for grinding services were made in cereals and flour.

The mill was put back into operation during the Second World War by the partisans of the Lys Brigade and its use continued until the first postwar period.

Today the system is not active but is still functional. The two millstones with wooden hoppers for inserting the grains and bread-bins for collecting flour are kept inside.

Héréraz (or Hérères) castle belonged to the Vallaise-Hérères branch, which died out in 1390.
The original residential building was transformed into a parish house and the perimeter wall was used as building material for the church. The castle’s donjon, with its more than six metres long and about two metres thick walls, was adapted into a bell-tower: seven metres above the ground it is still possible to see the ancient access gate, with a blind arch on the architrave, dating back to around the 11th century.

The castle was sold by Alessandro of Roero Guarene, son of Rosalia of Vallaise, to build a church, blessed in 1878.

Situated in the centre of the municipal seat, the castle is the oldest in Perloz, and certainly dates back to the 12th century, as confirmed by a document from 1195, which refers to a “sala domini” in Perloz.
It is still known as the “Ohtal” (from the Latin “hospitalis” and French “ostel”), that is a comfortable dwelling with all necessary facilities.

The construction is imposing with five floors above ground, and these dimensions must have had a political importance: the imposing size of the fortified house was meant to catch the eye of anyone going up the Lys Valley, proof of the power of the Vallaise family.
Its interesting features include a series of two-mullioned, trilobate, round, and cross windows, ended in grey stone. On the inside the palace had a well yielding fresh water. Two large fireplaces are still visible; one bears the Vallaise family coat of arms, sculpted in grey stone.

The castle was burned down during Nazi-fascist rounding up campaign on June 30 1944. The roof was restored, but it wasn’t possible to recover the two floors with wood flooring.

Charles castle is a series of fortified houses. It was inhabited by Charles, notary and lord of Perloz and royal judge in Bard who, in 1709, having contributed to liberating the fortress of Bard from the French, was awarded with a noble title by Duke Victor Amadeus II.

This fortified house can be found on the left-hand side of the paved road coming from Pont St. Martin.
It is a complex of three buildings, consisting of four storeys above ground, close to a steep slope with a stream at the bottom.

Access to the inside is gained via the side tower, with its machicolation and “viret”, a spiral staircase from 1616, with a beautiful stone balustrade. The two upper floors of the fortified house bear the original wooden ceilings. One room has a false ceiling with secret nook. The kitchen boast a large fireplace with wooden hood.
The cellars and the so-called prisons rested on live rock, while overlooking the brook is an opening that facilitated escape from the building in case of danger. Not far from the entrance tower there is another entrance to the lower body of the castle, via a staircase and a door bearing the Vallaise-Challant coat of arms, commemorating the marriage between Pierre Vallaise-Challant (De la Côte branch) and Antoinette de Challant (around 1400).

These buildings were later refurbished and modified, however they were probably built in the 14th or 15 centuries, with additions in the 16the and 17th centuries

In the main village of Perloz, this 17th century chapel is dedicated to San Rocco who, in artistic iconography, usually presents the shell and pilgrim’s stick as distinctive elements and is thus represented in the central fresco on the facade.
Inside, the painting on the altar represents the Saint with the dog, in the act of lifting his robe to show the signs of the plague.

Nel villaggio di Plan-De-Brun, al lato della antica mulattiera che sale al borgo di Perloz e lungo l’itinerario escursionistico Cammino Balteo, si affaccia la cappella dedicata alla Santissima Trinità che pare esistesse già nel XVIII secolo come risulta da una visita pastorale svoltasi nel 1786.

L’edificio venne ricostruito nel 1835 a spese di un abitante del villaggio.
Sul lato destro sorgono la sacrestia ed il campanile che ancora oggi reca evidenti segni di colpi di mitragliatrice essendo stato teatro di scontri tra partigiani e nazifascisti nel 1944 durante la lotta di liberazione.

La facciata richiama in parte l’architettura del santuario di Notre-Dame-De-la-Garde con un portico a tre archi davanti all’ingresso.

L’altare maggiore è in muratura, sovrastato da una cornice in legno intagliato e dipinto che racchiude una tela raffigurante l’incoronazione della Vergine ed i santi Pantaleone, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni evangelista, Vittore, Bartolomeo, Caterina e Anna.
Gli altari laterali sono in legno intagliato dipinto e dorato dedicati al Sacro Cuore di Gesù e al Sacro Cuore di Maria.

Looking at the church dedicated to Saint Joseph, in the village of Tour d’Héréraz, the medieval tower stands out, which today is its bell tower. At that time, many travelers passed the waters of the Lys stream over the nearby Pont Moretta bridge, located downstream from the church, and this tower was used to control wayfarers and the passage of goods. It was part of a fortified complex donated to the Tour d’Héréraz community by a descendant of the Vallaise family in the second half of the 19th century.

In 1878, the year of the church’s consecration, the tower was transformed into a bell tower by modifying its terminal part to make room for the belfry. At a height of seven meters you can still see the ancient access door with an architrave surmounted by a blind arch.

The church is generally closed.

In the past Salvador’s Church held a very important role because the parish of Perloz covered the entire Lys valley. Later, from the end of 1100, independent parishes were established in the surrounding areas.
It is not known exactly when it was built, with some saying around 772, however it was probably built around the year 1000. Only the bell-tower (its base is from the IX or X century, however the upper parts are more recent) of the original building remains because it was entirely demolished in the early seventeenth century to make way for the new church.
The church, which was built between 1616 and 1620 in the same place as the previous one, has remained almost intact to present day. It has a rectangular plan and is composed of a single nave with three ribbed vaults.

The main facade is frescoed with a painting depicting the Last Judgement dating back to 1676. Inside, one can observe the main altar in black marble and multi-coloured wooden inlay. There are beautiful panels with statues of St. Orso, St. Gratus, St. John the Baptist, St. James the Evangelist and obviously St. Salvador, which is positioned to the centre. The relic contains a thorn said to be from Christ’s crown brought to the church during The Crusades.

The first construction of the shrine seems to date back to the 12th century, given the casual finding of a statue of the Madonna, according to tradition, which was probably hidden during the era of the barbaric invasions. It was extended between 1715 and 1718.

The facade is very elegant, with a portico supported by four columns. The interior, frescoed in the nineteenth century by the Avondo brothers, was covered with ribbed vaults and small, votive squares and displays of popular faith and gratitude for the “grace received”. The three wooden altars from the eighteenth century and the statue of the miraculous Virgin Mary seated with Child (14th century) are worth noting. The inner windowsill of the facade, on the left, has an oval stone used as an “élémosinaire” or “chaplain”, with the inscription IHS and the Vallaise shield. The square in front of the church hosts a beautiful fountain with a column, a mask dated 1642, and a base dug from a single block of stone.
The back of the church has a bell-tower and a house for pilgrims, with an elegant portico with a view out towards the flatland.

This exhibition was opened for the Concours du Patois Abbé Cerlogne, held in Perloz in 2001.
It contains several items of furniture and school articles from the old school in Marine, now restored and used as a museum and as the tourist office events room.

The exhibition opens on demand or on the occasion of festivals taking place in the hamlet.

For information and reservations, please call the phone numbers reported in the “Contact” area.

The Museum, inaugurated in its new headquarters on 25 April 2001 25 April 2008, is housed in the headquarters of Loc. Capoluogo inside the historic building that was the home, immediately after the war, of the first partisan band active in the lower Valle d’Aosta, the Brigata Lys protagonist in 1943 of the first resistance action in the Lower Valley, in the more general context of the war and the struggle for Liberation in the Aosta Valley.
Relics, uniforms, helmets, clothing, flags, topographic maps, weapons, objects of various kinds are suitably combined with precious documentary, photographic and iconographic material, enhanced thanks to multimedia technologies and new and engaging communication methods. The Documentation Center set up in the Museum itself is equipped with publications, videos, CDs, cassettes, manuscripts and archival documents. A film on the Resistance in the Aosta Valley and Perloz, as well as multilingual audioguides, enrich the museum experience. They tell the story of the museum and accompany visitors in a path of discovery of the permanent collection.

Visits on reservation by contacting the Municipality at the phone numbers indicated in the “Contacts” section.

Les Chemins de la Liberté
Along with the museum, it is possible to find out about places of partisan fights along the route that starts from Plan de Burn as far as the hamlet of Marine; the path takes about one hour. 

An impressive testimony of the Romanization of Valle d’Aosta. Its date is uncertain: according to some it is said to have been built around 120 B.C. while others attribute it to 25 B.C.

The bridge
It is anchored to the live rock on both sides, 25 metres high and its single arch is 35 metres wide. At its base, dug into the live rock, you can see the bearings for the wooden beams which provided the necessary framework for the construction of the stone arch. At the end of the nineteenth century some iron crowns were added to strengthen the structure. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, further down in the valley, another wooden bridge was built, it was later replaced in 1876 by the current brick structure.

The legend
Popular imagination has attributed the construction of the bridge to the devil. According to legend, Saint Martin, the Bishop of Tours, found himself obstructed by the Lys river on his way back from Italy to his dioceses, the river had swept way the only walkway during a flood. The devil proposed that the problem be solved by building a solid bridge in just one night, but in exchange he requested the soul of the first person to cross that bridge. The saint accepted, but the next morning, throwing a piece of bread over to the other side of the bridge, he made sure that the first creature to cross the bridge was a hungry dog. The devil was furious and disappeared into the Lys amidst bolts of lightening and blasts of sulphur and the local population was left with the bridge. This legend still constitutes one of the main themes of the Pont-Saint-Martin carnival, which concludes with the burning of a devil in effigy under the Roman bridge.

Its construction began in 1883 on a rock overlooking the ancient burg, as wished by Pietro Annibale Baraing, one of the most important figures in Pont-Saint-Martin.
Built in neo-gothic style, according to the style of the era, it was surrounded by a large garden with greenhouses and fountains, and its construction was completed in 1893.
In 1931 it was donated to the municipality of Pont-Saint-Martin, which turned it into the town hall. In the post-war period up to the 1960s, it housed the Regional Employment Offices.
After being left in abandonment for several years, it was refurbished and is now the headquarters of the Mont Rose Mountain Municipal District.

Formerly known as della Rivoire, the castle was built in different phases and used as a residence by the lords of Pont-Saint-Martin starting from the end of the 15th century. Remodeled several times, while still maintaining various significant aspects, in its primitive forms the structure could be identified as a rural fortification (hence the name of a stronghold), but its function, as well as defensive, was also ostentatious, meeting the need to underline the prestige enjoyed by the owners.
The building is spread over four floors: a basement room, with the function of a warehouse or room for the processing of agricultural products, two floors representing the main floors and a third, with seat windows, with more modest living characteristics.
On the south-west side there is a projecting body that rests on superimposed shelves of squared stone. To the north-west, towards via Castello, the original wall structure is clearly visible, made of stones and lime mortar; at the top a characteristic fireplace stands out. On the north-east side are the entrance and the stairwell which leads to the mezzanine and the two raised floors. Various interesting elements also present the south-east side, which overlooks the internal courtyard: three windows with grating, a wooden balcony resting on a system of shelves, beams and lightning bolts and finally the dovecote.
The restoration carried out in 2012 made it possible to recover the building by removing it from neglect and the signs of aging and allowing it to be returned to the population and to all those interested in the history of the country.

Visit
After the renovation, the stronghold of the lords of Pont-Saint-Martin has become the home no longer of noble families, but of talents and culture, a museum and cultural center that worthily return this historic building to the community in all its splendor.

In addition to some drawings by the master Francesco Corni, the structure houses various period furnishings belonging to the collections of the regional administration, set up on the main floor together with the exhibition “Presenze”, antique clothes and linen interpreted by Daniela Evangelisti .
The third floor is dedicated to the works of the sculptor Cristiano Nicoletta, made available by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and Activities of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta, as well as to the exhibition “The bombing of Pont Saint Martin - 1944” . Finally, going up to the last level is the photographic exhibition “Vignobles” curated by Enrico Peyrot.

The Fontaney Church stands along the regional road of Perloz, just above the centre of Pont-Saint-Martin, hidden among cypresses and boxtrees, in a place rich in sources whose moisture unfortunately caused the decline of this beautiful model reproducing in miniature the plant of the Aosta Cathedral, and from which derives the toponym that means “place of the fountains”.

History
Built between 1590 and 1595 by Baron Pierre of Vallaise on a land owned by his family, next to the fortified house, it was dedicated to the Precious Blood and the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At the time when the church was built, Pont-Saint-Martin’s territory still belonged to the parishes of Perloz and Donnas. After several instances from the inhabitants and the Baron who let the church build, on 5 June 1614 the church was appointed as parish by Bishop Martini, and so remained until 1899.

Description
The church has a rectangular plan, with three naves, divided by pillars painted with frescoes of scenes from the life of Saints. The interior paintings, in fairly good conditions, bear the date of 1726. The polygonal apse has an ambulatory which prolongs the side aisles, while the rib vaults are divided by grey stone cordons. The façade was frescoed in 1600: the Renaissance paintings represent scenes from the Holy Scriptures.
On the right side is placed the chapel of the Holy Rosary, contemporary of the rest of the building.
The presbitery is placed over a step elevated above the floor of the nave: it was once bounded by two tuff columns, still visible on the side walls.
The aisles are lightened by fifteen large windows, once provided with lead glass with images of Saint Martin (who gave the name to the municipality), the Glory of Christ, the Virgin and the twelve Apostles.
The sacristy was in communication with the bell tower, now collapsed.

In 1839 the new parish church, built in the plain, was opened: since that time the old parish church was stripped of all ornaments and gradually abandoned.
In 1904 an ordinance of the city council of Pont-Saint-Martin would even have ordered its demolition, in order to allow the expansion of the nearby cemetery. The intervention of the parish priest don Fortunato Quendoz was decisive and saved from destruction this jewel of sacred architecture: in 1910 the Regional Direction for Ancient Monuments declared the church of Fontaney as a national monument.
In 1968 were made some operations on the plasters and in 1998 the roof was reconstructed, at the end of a complex series of restoration and renovation interventions that gave again the very identity to the monument.
Since 2009 the Fontaney Church has been finally returned to the population.

The museum is dedicated to the magnificent bridge built by the Romans in the 1st century BC, whose arch is the widest among those existing in Europe, dating back to the same era.

An interesting series of photographs, drawings and documents allows to acquire any kind of information about the ‘‘Devil’s Bridge’‘: the materials and techniques used for its construction, legends about the bridge, the 19th-century restoration, the narrow escape from allied bombing in August 1944.
The Roman bridge museum is also the departure point for an all-round visit to the village of Pont-Saint-Martin, presented in a video projected in the same room.

Il Carnevale di Pont-Saint-Martin è nato nel 1910 e trae origine da due distinte leggende popolari.
Una è imperniata sul personaggio del Diavolo che, come vuole la leggenda, fu interpellato da San Martino per la costruzione di un ponte solido sul torrente Lys. Il Maligno innalzò un bellissimo arco in una sola notte, ma in cambio chiese l’anima che per prima vi fosse transitata. Il Santo però ingannò il Diavolo facendo passare sul ponte un cane: il Maligno si infuriò e voleva distruggere la propria opera: aveva già aperto una breccia sul parapetto del ponte, ma San Martino piantò una croce nel suo punto più alto e fece scomparire il Diavolo. In seguito venne eretto un oratorio nel luogo dove era stata fatta la breccia, per annullare il maleficio che non permetteva di ripararla in nessun modo.
Il personaggio della Ninfa si rifà invece alla leggenda della Fata di Colombera: secondo la tradizione questa leggiadra creatura abitava in un antro scavato nella roccia nei pressi di Réchanter. Ma gli abitanti del borgo la accusarono di iniquità ed ella decise di lasciare quel luogo inospitale. Fece cadere una pioggia torrenziale che ingrossò le acque del rivo di Réchanter, poi fermò le acque del Lys formando un lago nel quale ella si adagiò, per poi ridare nuovamente sfogo ai flutti. La terribile ondata, arrivata nei pressi di Pont, rischiava di travolgere il Ponte Romano ed alcuni abitanti del paese invocarono la ninfa: “Baissez-vous, la belle, et laissez-nous le pont!” La giovane creatura, commossa, risparmiò il Ponte ed il paese, cosa che gli abitanti ricordano ancor oggi con riconoscenza.
Durante la festa si svolge anche la “corsa delle bighe”, in ricordo dell’occupazione Romana al tempo dei Salassi, ed i festeggiamenti si concludono con il rogo del Diavolo sotto il ponte.
La manifestazione inizia il sabato grasso per terminare il mercoledì delle Ceneri.