Churches and chapels

Discover the churches and chapels of Haute Maurienne Vanoise. Austere on the outside, colorful and richly decorated on the inside: the baroque churches of Haute Maurienne are surprising. Visit also the chapels that dot the villages, the hamlets and the mountain pastures.

Lombardy bell towers

The churches of Haute Maurienne Vanoise are mostly composed of a "Lombard" type bell tower attached to the church. Remarkable bell towers with their square tower surmounted by an eight-sided spire surrounded by 4 small "mitres d'amortissement".

Churches with a massive and austere appearance that nevertheless contain treasures ofBaroque art from the 17th century. The idea was to give a "foretaste of paradise". A rich heritage to visit.

Chapels, "Comics of the Middle Ages

Chapels are everywhere in Haute Maurienne Vanoise: in the villages, in the hamlets, in the mountain pastures... They testify to a faith deeply anchored in the daily life of the inhabitants. Some chapels are particularly remarkable, like the medieval chapel of Charmaix and its mysterious black Virgin in Valfréjus. But also the superb chapels of Saint-Sébastien and Saint-Antoine in Val Cenis and Bessans: chapels which shelter extraordinary mural frescoes which reveal, in the form of a "comic strip of the Middle Ages", the life of Christ and the Saints.