Heritage: Villeneuve

The hydroelectric plant of Champagne 1 is an industrial monument of the Belle Époque.Built in 1921, it is one of the most interesting plants, in an architectural point of view:austere and solid on the outside, embellished by decorations and architectural motifs on the inside.The plant is characterized by a structure made up of a grey stone main unit with large windows and two quadrangular side towers.The structure harmoniously fits in with the castles located in the surrounding areas: Saint-Pierre, Aymavilles, Introd, Avise and Arvier.

But the main point of interest of this tour is exploring the inside of the plant.Once inside the main entrance you come into a large hall, completely decorated on the ceilings and walls.Beside this building there is the other plant called Champagne 2 (visits not allowed), much more simple in shape and form.

The decorations were completed in 1929 and were recently restored. From this hall, where the turbines and generators are located, a grand staircase leads to a room where long ago the operation and production of the plant was controlled. The tour of the plant is interesting in order to better understand the running of hydroelectric plants and to see how energy can be produced by the use of a precious natural element:water.
Close to the plant you can also admire the huge wheel of a hydraulic turbine.

You may visit the outside of the plant all year round.Guided tours of the inside are given during weekdays, from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.Guided tours of the outside and inside last about half an hour. You must make reservations.

Book your visit to the castle here.

Recent studies have shown that the current configuration of the castle dates back to around 1275; however the place name Castrum Argenteum had already appeared in 1176.
The constructor was probably Master James of Saint Georges, the architect of Count Peter II, already active in Wales. The promontory on which the castle stands and which overlooks the residential area of Villeneuve had already been inhabited in protohistoric times and during the Roman era.
Its strategic position ensured that the castle remained property of the Count of Savoy along the centuries.

The castle consists of a vast enclosure with fortifications and a watchtower on the outside.
On the eastern side is the chapel, the oldest part of the complex (11-12th century). The western part of the enclosure is delimited by a defence wall which contains the entrance. This second perimeter structure contained the residential wings, now destroyed, buttressed against the wall, the vaulted cistern and the circular keep.
The architecture puts in evidence the defensive aspect of the original structure: the entrance door was placed some meters above the earth level and the only openings are the embrasures that are practically invisible from the outside.
The castle can be reached on foot in about fifteen minutes from the little road starting from the bridge over the Dora Baltea, in the village of Villeneuve.

You can access the church on foot, within the space of five minutes, from the road that unwinds from the bridge over the Dora Baltea.

The Romanesque style church, which is located at the foot of the medieval castle, was the seat of the parish until the end of the 18th century. The bell tower is a typical square shaped tower. During the digs carried out in the building, the remains of the ancient early-Christian church and the relative baptismal font were found.

The semi-circular shaped crypt, near the choir, dates back to the 11th century. Inside the church you can still admire important frescos from the 13th to the 16th century, as well as furnishings.

The current parish church in the centre of the village of Villeneuve, consecrated to Saint Mary of the Assumption, was built in 1792 on the chapel of the old hospital.

The decoration of the facade with “trompe l’oeil” columns by Giuseppe Stornone dates back to 1863 and depicts the ascension of the Virgin in the centre, on the sides Saint Grato and Saint Biagio and in the tympanum the trinity with Jesus, God the father and the dove symbol of the Holy Spirit.

The interior pictorial decoration focuses on the vaults and ceilings.
The main altar in polychrome marble was donated by the Gerbore family at the end of the 1700s.
The altarpiece is from 1914 while the altar facing the people dates back to 1975.

The left altar in painted and gilded wood is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary: the canvas depicts the Virgin enthroned with the child with saints, surrounded by the 15 mysteries of the Rosary.
The altar on the right, in carved wood, partly gilded and painted, is dedicated to Saint Biagio, patron saint of Villeneuve, and to Saint Anthony.

The pipe organ was built by Giovanni Franzetti and his son in 1861.

Curiosity:
In the square in front of the church, there is a frescoed sundial with the date of 1875 and the symbols of knowledge: sextant, globe, hourglass, pen and inkwell. With the equation table it is possible to calculate the time difference at various times of the year, which varies from + 15 to - 16 minutes.

The church is located along the Cammino Balteo hiking trail.