Heritage: Valgrisenche

Valgrisenche’s landscape is strictly tied to the Beauregard dam; as a matter of fact, this cement barrier built in 1954 completely closes off the valley. Situated at an altitude of 1.700 meters, the dam is 132 meters high with a 70 million cubic metre water capacity. The lake is 4 kilometres long and its waters feed the Avise hydroelectric plant. This dam, following gravity arch type criteria, was built in the 50’s to create an enormous water reserve for hydroelectric use. The dam is considerably large but the water level is kept under maximum capacity for safety reasons. In fact, technical surveys have demonstrated that the dam cannot be used at maximum capacity. Currently, the maximum capacity is 6.8 million cubic metres. The dam is 428 metres long and can be crossed by car or on foot providing a magnificent view of the entire valley.

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As far back as one can remember, the inhabitants of Valgrisenche have dedicated themselves to typical trades of the valley: the “drap” weaving, a rustic material obtained from spun wool and worked on antique “métiers” (looms) made of maple wood.

Initially the “drap” only had a few kinds of colour, while nowadays it has a discreet variety of shades and patterns, mostly geometric. The material is highly sought after in the furniture industry thanks to its appreciable robustness and durability and the particular heat that every handmade article gives off.

The weaving workshop is accessible to people with disabilities; the museum on the first floor is not.

Summer opening
01 / 07-15 / 09: 9.00-12.00 / 14.30-18.30 (closed Monday)

Winter opening
15 / 09-30 / 06: 8.30-12.00 / 14.00-17.30 (closed Sunday, Monday and public holidays)

In other periods, opening on request, please contact directly the Cooperative at the phone number reported in the “Contact” area.

The church was built between 1871 and 1875 and consecrated by Monsignor Duc, the bishop of Aosta, on June 9th 1876. It replaced the old church, erected when the parish was established (1392), restored and extended in 1666 and 1821. The works were carried out thanks to the curate Blaise-Couronne Prince, who collected the initial funds for this purpose: the participation of all the parishioners in the expenses and the works was quite generous.

The church has a single nave, with two side chapels. The main altar, in white Carrara marble, surmounted by the representation of the Last Supper and the Blessed Trinity, was installed in 1923, the two side altars in marble, dedicated to the Sacred Heart and the Virgin, replaced the old wooden altars in 1913 and 1914. In the apse there are also the statues of Saint Nicholas and Saint Gratus: this last, patron of the Aosta Valley, as well as of the village, is celebrated on September 7th .
The church’s organ, a Vegezzi & Bossi, which was purchased following a bequest in the 1900’s, was declared to be of particular historical and artistic relevance.
At the back of the church, in an urn, there are the mortal remains of Father Edoardo Bérard, the parish priest of Valgrisenche for 56 years (from 1893 to 1949), to whom a great part of the church’s rich decoration is owed.
The belltower consists of a square shaped tower in stone, once leaning against the old parish church; it is decorated with mullion windows and surmounted by a singular spire in the shape of a tiara in octagonal pyramid.

The Mondanges chapel, built in 1648, is dedicated to Saints Joseph, Hilary and Barbara.
In the years 1890-1891, the chapel was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style by the entrepreneur and architect Giuseppe Lancia.

It is characterised by its tall, slender façade with a pointed arch portal surmounted by a circular opening, large windows in the side walls and buttresses at the four corners and along the walls. The interior is marked by ribs and cross vaults.

The chapel has no bell tower, the bell is fixed to a metal frame on the roof near the façade.
The carved wooden altar is also in neo-Gothic style. The statues of the saints, once placed on the altar shelves, are now on display in the parish museum.

The Maundy Thursday procession still ends at the Mondanges chapel after vespers.

The chapel is equipped with the “Open-door church” system of automated opening and narration.
Using the dedicated app, visitors can access the chapel where a narration accompanied by images and music introduces them to of the art and sacred architecture of Valgrisenche.

Stretching towards the French region of Tarentaise, Valgrisenche offers visitors a panorama of the surrounding mountains peaks and glaciers. Over the centuries, this has been the scene of border disputes, wars, divisions between so-called “enemy” states, as well as the land of man’s common struggle for dignity and freedom. At the end of the second world war, this land became a place for exchange and solidarity, a reference point and symbol of a newfound European unity.

The photographic and documentary exhibition on the Resistance at the documentation centre is testimony to the contacts and relationships between the populations that live on either side of the Alps. The exhibition is enriched with multimedia elements which, through photographs and interviews underline the role and importance of Col du Mont, lying between Valgrisenche and Tarentaise, from the French Revolution to the Resistance movement of the Second World War.

The documentation centre building is well-suited to the themes dealt with: the vieux quartier is a recently restored fortress dating back to the end of the 19th century, devised as a control and defence station between Valgrisenche and Tarentaise. Its function was a determining factor for its architecture and its austere appearance.

Set up in the parish church, the Valgrisenche sacred art museum preserves and exhibits a significant collection of the rich heritage of furnishings belonging to the church itself and to many chapels of the valley.

Numerous wooden statues come from the chapels abandoned in the 1950s following the construction of a large dam in the upper part of the valley, recently downsized for safety reasons.

In the main display case, the sculptural group of the Virgin enthroned with the Child stands out, dating back to the end of the 14th century, belonging to the furnishings of the ancient parish church, built after 1392, the year the parish was founded, and consecrated in 1417. The two angels candle holders from the Prariond chapel can be dated to the first quarter of the fifteenth century.

The four wooden statues of the Aosta Valley saints Anselm, Giocondo, Orso and Bernard date back to the Baroque period and were originally part of the main altar built in 1679. Alongside these in the display case are other sculptures of saints, dating back to the 17th-18th centuries, coming from the chapels of the valley and in particular from those that no longer exist such as Surrier, Usellières and Fornet. Stylistically homogeneous is the group of statues created by the Valsesian artist Giovanni Comoletti for the Mondanges chapel at the end of the nineteenth century.

Expressions of Marian devotion are the sculptures placed in the window case to the right of the entrance, including a very delicate sixteenth-century Pietà and the evocative image of the Assumption of the Virgin from the Fornet chapel.

The central display case shows the processional objects.
The most ancient processional cross can be dated to the end of the 13th century (therefore preceding the establishment of the parish).
The cross placed in the centre dates back to 1440-1450 with the figures of the Virgin and Saint John at the sides of Christ at the ends of the arms and on the back the symbols of the evangelists arranged around the central bezel. The latter was embellished with a small illuminated parchment dating back to around 1470-1480, depicting the Madonna and Child, probably added in a later period.
The tubular shape distinguishes the third cross, an imported work most likely coming from Flanders, dating back to between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century.

The devotional and liturgical jewellery is presented in a dedicated display case, including four precious metal foil boxes, intended for the conservation and display of the relics to the faithful. Fragments of the body of San Grato, patron saint of the parish, were kept both in the box reliquary dating back to the second half of the 15th century, and in that datable to the first quarter of the following century, decorated with golden plaques with the figures of the Virgin and the saints Grato and Giocondo.

Finally, the furnishings of the church and chapels include a series of sacred vases, including a monstrance, a pyx and various chalices, dated to the last quarter of the 17th century and assignable to silversmiths' workshops operating in the neighbouring French territories.

Since the dawn of time, the inhabitants of the Valgrisenche have devoted themselves to the typical trade of the valley: the weaving of “drap”. This rustic fabric, initially only in a few colours, is made of sheep’s wool using the antique “métiers” (looms).
Today drap comes in a considerable variety of shades and patterns, mainly geometrical. The fabric is in great demand for furnishing, because it is hard wearing, durabile and boasts the particular warmth that is characteristic of all craft products.

*“Drap: the textile soul of a community”
Group visits may be booked for this permanent exhibition, set up in the Vieux Quartier multi-purpose hall in 2009 to celebrate the Cooperative’s 40th anniversary.
Through pictures, objects and the recollections of the people of the Valgrisenche , the exhibition attempts to illustrate the various aspects of a skill handed down through the generations, which has engaged whole families in a trade that in the 1950s was at risk of disappearing for good.
A publication on the exhibition is available.