Chapel of Ponty

Along the road that goes from the main town of Torgnon to the village of Petit-Monde, you will find a pretty chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Pitié. Built between 1720 and 1730, the chapel is set in the rock, right along the stretch connecting the villages of Mongnod and Triatel and is an important place of devotion for the inhabitants of the area.

This stretch of road, prone to avalanches and landslides, was completely blocked in winter, completely isolating the villages of Étirol and Triatel.

One of the most curious elements of the building is the sacristy, which projects slightly towards the street. On one of its walls you can detect a small sloping wooden gutter, through which the faithfuls could slide their offerings, often in the form of wheat, directly into the chapel.

The birth of this sacred place is linked to a miraculous event handed down by popular tradition. It is said that, in very ancient times, some shepherds found a statue of the Virgin Mary embedded in the rock of the mountain. They took it with them to the village, but the following day the statue reappeared in the same hollow where it had been discovered. The phenomenon was repeated even after it was moved to the parish church: each time, the statue returned to its place of origin. The villagers, struck by this prodigy, then decided to build a small oratory right there, where the chapel stands today, to guard the miraculous statue.