• Culture

    CHURCHES

    spirituality and tradition

PLACES OF WORSHIP

Churches and chapels, many of which are significant from a historical and artistic point of view, are found in all the villages crossed by the Balteo Trail.

Religious devotion pervades this land, where crosses and shrines were built in the past, even in harsh and dangerous places, to invoke protection or to favour crops.

NOT TO BE MISSED

Sant'Orso

The cloister of the church of Sant’Orso in Aosta (stages 18-19) is considered among the highest expressions of Romanesque religious sculpture. The wooden choir, the ancient frescoes in the attic and the chapel of the Priorship are also noteworthy.

THE CATHEDRAL OF AOSTA

The Renaissance makes its entrance into Aosta with the shapes and colors of terracotta on the facade of the Cathedral. The wooden stalls in the choir, the floor mosaics, the Ottonian frescoes in the attic and the museum of treasures are also worthy of …

THE shrine OF MACHABY

Above Arnad, along stage 4, there is an ancient shrine dedicated to the Madonna of the Snow. A hostel built in a 17th-century fort and a holiday farm serving snacks based on local products offer their hospitality.

SAN MARTINO CHURCH

In Arnad (stages 4 and 22) the stone shows the sacredness of the building, a precious pearl of history and beauty. The structure (11th century) in the Romanesque style and the 14th- and 15th-century frescoes are noteworthy.

MADELEINE CHAPEL

In Gressan, a few steps off the route (stage 18), the Romanesque church of Sainte-Marie-Magdeleine de Villa is known as the "Madeleine Chapel". The apse, the 12th-century bell tower and the frescoes by the painter Giacomino d'Ivrea are outstanding.

SAINT-VINCENT CHURCH

The church, in the welcoming pedestrian center of Saint-Vincent (stage 7), stands on the remains of a Roman building dating back to 300-400 AD.

CHURCHES ALONG THE TRAIL

Churches and shrines
Panorama di Aymavilles

Saint Barbara chapel in Vercellod

Aymavilles

Saint Barbara chapel, in Vercellod, dates back to the 18th century.

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Churches and shrines
Panorama di Aymavilles

Saint Grat Chapel in Vieyes

Aymavilles

Saint Gratus chapel, in the hamlet of Vieyes, built in 1855.

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Churches and shrines
Church interior

Saint-Léger church

Aymavilles

Slightly upstream from the village centre of Aymavilles, along the road that leads to Cogne, the church with its characteristic “trompe-l’oeil” façade, in its current forms, dates back to 1762, but the belltower originates from the previous building, on …

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Churches and shrines
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Sant'Andrea chapel in Pont d'Ael

Aymavilles

Saint Andrew chapel, in the cozy village of Pont D’Ael, known for its spectacular Roman aqueduct bridge, is already mentioned in 1693, but it is certainly older. The village is located along the hiking trail Cammino Balteo.

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Churches and shrines
Main facade

Parish church of the Assumption of Mary

Bard

The parish of Bard, although it was already mentioned in 1176, was actually always managed by the parish priest of Hône, who regularly went there to celebrate the Mass. Nevertheless, given that the suburb of Bard was often closed and remained isolated …

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Churches and shrines
Chiesa di Santa Margherita - Bionaz

Parish church of Santa Margherita

Bionaz

Situated in the heart of the inhabited centre of Bionaz, the church was built in 1694, as we see from the writing sculpted on the southern edge, enlarging the primitive chapel dating from 1617, which had already become the parish church in 1640. The bell …

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Churches and shrines
Chiesetta degli Alpini - Breuil-Cervinia

Chapels

Breuil-Cervinia

THE OLD CHAPEL IN BREUIL - it existed as early as 1759, however it was renovated in 1869 and extended in 1925; it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits and of Snow. Inside, it hosts a wooden, Baroque altar from the eighteenth century with four, small …

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Churches and shrines
Chiesa di Santa Maria Regina - Breuil-Cervinia

Parish church of Sainta Mary Queen of Aosta Valley

Breuil-Cervinia

The parish church was completed in 1955, while its bell-tower dates back to 1957. Worth noting inside the church, two bas-reliefs sculptured in wood by the Beato Angelico school of Milan: to the right, Madonna with Child, and to the left, St. Bernard, …

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Churches and shrines
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Small church of the Alpins soldiers

Breuil-Cervinia

You can reach this small church, built in remembrance of all those who died in the Mount Cervino Skier Battalion, by foot in half an hour from the town using an easy dirt road by following the directions for the Oriondé - Segnavia Refuge no. 13. There is …

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Churches and shrines
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The old chapel in Breuil

Breuil-Cervinia

The Chapel existed as early as 1759, however it was renovated in 1869 and extended in 1925; it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits and of Snow. Inside, it hosts a wooden, Baroque altar from the eighteenth century with four, small twisted columns. …

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