• 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
Prevostura di Saint-Gilles

Vicarage of Saint-Gilles and parish church

Verrès

Tradition dates the foundation of the monastery to the X century, however the canonicals of St. Egidio are mentioned for the first time in 1050. It was the location of the parish church, which includes buildings dating from the XI and XVIII centuries. …

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Churches and shrines
La chiesa dall'alto

Ancient church of Santa Maria

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 …

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Churches and shrines
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Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta

Villeneuve

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 …

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