Heritage: Torgnon

After going through a stretch of the old road leading to Valais, you will reach a green valley where, at 2084 meters, there are the enchanting ruins of the hospice of Chavacour, which is supposed to have been the point where merchants on their way to Switzerland via the Col Collon and Arolla glacier received hospitality and food.

The ruins form a square structure with its front facing North and cover an area of 480 m2. Its walls are not dry-stone built, as those of the surrounding mountain pastures, but using stones thoroughly cemented with mortar and sand.

It seems that the building was rather impressive, so much that one wonders if it was a hospice that welcomed merchants, travelers and pilgrims or rather a fortress designed to control and defend the territory. From a documentary point of view, there is little information about it, and the phrase “hospice de Chavacour” itself is in use only after 1800.

According to tradition, Col Collon was a crucial pass for people carrying wine, wheat and other products from Italy to Switzerland, such as for shepherds from Aosta Valley bringing their animals to the fair in Evolène and, in the opposite direction, to lead the cows from Val d’Hérens to the yearly held fair in Valpelline. This pass had also a strategic role for the Challant and Cly families, who had possessions and various interests in Val d’Anniviers and in Sion, territories bordering the Valtournenche, while for the counts of Savoy, who took possession of Cly feud in 1367, this pass had a secondary function, since their transalpine properties were more easily accessible from Little and Great Saint Bernard passes.

It is certain that at the end of 1700 the hospice of Chavacour was in ruins: canon Frutaz suggests that some of its stones were reused in the construction of the nearby mountain pasture Château, dating from 1780.

How to get there
From the houses in Etirol, follow the beautiful trail entering the valley and go on until crossing the river; continue up on the private road n. 1 until you leave it on the left to take the path that allows you to reach the ruins of the Hospice de Chavacour.

Text and drawings freely taken from “Il labirinto della memoria”
By the Scientific Committee of the Musée Petit-Monde

PARISH CHURCH (Side door half moon) - the year of construction is unknown. It reappeared in 1975 during renovations on the plaster and was restored by the Piedmont painter Pirlato.
HOTEL PANORAMIQUE - in the hamlet of Mongnod m.1,500. Year of construction 1985. Authors R. Anselmi and A. Carlon.

Among the oldest chapels in Torgnon, the one dedicated to Saint James dates back to around 1450. It was built in the 15^th century by the notary Aymonod. The choir dates back to 1868 and may have coincided with the rebuilding of the façade, which today lacks the niche that once housed the statue of the saint. The interior preserves an elegant 18^th century gilded wooden altar.

In a panoramic and dominant position, the Châtelard chapel dedicated to Saint Grato overlooks the entire parish, as if protecting it from above. According to popular tradition, Saint Grato is the
guardian of villages and cultivated fields, invoked in particular against natural disasters and hail. The present building already existed in the second half of the 18^th century and was rebuilt in 1718 at the behest of the parish priest Borine, with the contribution of the municipality.

For an easy hike, the Châtelard mountain offers an ideal option. From the hamlet of Châtelard, you can continue along an unmarked but clearly visible path to the panoramic summit. Here, the alpine military squad have placed a statue of the Virgin. This is the arrival point of the route and a particularly evocative place, with lovely views of Torgnon, Valtournenche and the valley floor. Every year, in June, an open-air mass is celebrated here, immersed in the tranquillity of the mountains.

The Chapel of Gillarey offers one of the most spectacular views of the Aosta Valley. Built in 1866 on a rocky spur overlooking the Buisson valley floor, it seems suspended between the sky and the mountain. It was blessed the following year by Canon Luigi Gorret, whose family had owned the pasture since the 16^th century.

All around the chapel, stone slabs placed at regular intervals have prompted some suggestive, if risky, hypotheses concerning the reuse of prehistoric menhirs to create a sort of terrestrial sundial. A place where spirituality is intertwined with mystery, ideal for a contemplative pause or an inspired hike.

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.

In a dominant position over Valtournenche and the entire valley floor, the chapel of Saint-Évence stands on a panoramic plateau that can be reached in about half an hour's walk from Col Saint-Pantaléon. Its origin is ancient: it existed as early as the 13^th century and was dependent on the collegiate church of Sant'Orso of Aosta. Recently restored, the chapel is still a destination for pilgrims, particularly to invoke a spring full of beneficial rains for the crops.

According to official church annals, Saint Évence was an Eastern priest who came to Rome along with Saint Theodul. Both were martyred in 132 A.D., under Emperor Hadrian, along with Pope St. Alexander. In the entire Aosta Valley you can also find another legend, much more rooted in the territory and its spiritual geography.

Popular tradition recognizes Saint Évence as a soldier of the legendary Theban legion who escaped the slaughter of Agaunus along with his brothers Theodule and Julian. After their escape, the three found refuge in the Aosta Valley, where they chose a life of solitude and prayer, each on a peak now linked to their names: Théodule in the Valtournenche area, Évence above Torgnon and Julien near Fénis. Saint-Évence, from this plateau, would have been able to peer into the dwellings of his hermit brothers, acting as a spiritual link between them.

A mysterious element adds charm to the place: on the eastern edge of the plateau, overlooking a precipice, you can find what is still called the "Saint-Évence hole." Legend has it that the saint, during his struggles against demons or hostile shepherds, according to various legends, forcefully drove his staff into the rock, miraculously creating that opening to anchor himself and resist aggression.

The chapel of Saint-Pantaléon is located just below the hill of the same name, nestled among the pines along the ancient gravel path that climbs from the Torgnon side. It is a secluded and silent place, where the intensity of popular devotion is still felt. The present building dates from 1845-1847, but it stands on a site that already housed an oratory, probably erected as a sign of thanksgiving after the plague of 1630.

The facade, though marked by time and graffiti, retains traces of the paintings made by the artist Avondo. Dedicated to one of the most revered Auxiliary Saints, the chapel has always been a landmark for those seeking protection along the way or a simple stop for reflection surrounded by nature. A perfect destination for a walk admiring the lovely landscape, in the name of faith and history. 

The chapel of Triatel, nestled in the stillness of the village bearing the same name, retains an aura of mystery that fascinates anyone approaching it. Its origins are lost in time: there are records of it as early as 1588, when it was dedicated to Saint Theodul, although the exact date of construction remains unknown. Today the chapel is dedicated to Saint Roch, protector against epidemics, testifying to the deep popular faith that has always animated the community.

Ancient tales are passed down around this place, such as the one according to which, for a time, unbaptized children were buried under the floor of the chapel. A detail that speaks of the past, the fragility of life and the search for protection even for those who had not been able to receive the rites of faith. A small, yet highly evocative building.

The oldest historic news dates back to 1413, however the current construction in Neogothic style dates back to 1868. The facade presents the most recent decorations inside tondos and mullioned windows. They depict: the Virgin with Child, with two angels in the pointed arched hollows and Jesus Christ in the middle. The side facade represents Pope John. The wooden doorway is overlooked by spires. The bell-tower to the right is in Romanesque style, however it was built in 1773, with lowered arch access and a bell chamber on two floors and mullioned windows. The left side includes a sundial. Inside, there are three naves marked by columns and furnished in Neogothic style, except the marble altar, which once had wooden panels.
The walls are decorated with paintings by G. Stornone from Ivrea, on tondos and canvas. The stained glass, which comes from Abbot Pron’s factory (Pont d’Ane in France) on the southern wall date back to the time of construction, while the stained glass on the organ is more recent.
The central nave of the church hosts a large, sixteenth-century triumphant crucifix, which is definitely one of the most impressive works on show in the region: hugely dramatic, it appears to come from a German workshop, since the sculpture reflects the result of expression sought by the greatest German painters of the early sixteenth-century, such as Grünewald.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, with an octagonal layout in Neo-Gothic style, is linked to the parish church. The segmented vault is decorated with pictures from between 1863 and 1868 which depict four stories of the life of the Virgin Mary interspersed with tondos of saints and a small, reniform window: The walls depict the Weeping Mother, the Adoration of the Wise Men and Jesus in the garden of Getseman.

Torgnon inhabitants are cheerful, lively and friendly. In a word, “Sargaillon”, as they came to be known by the residents of neighbouring villages. This nickname inspired the foundation in 1969 of the folk group “Les Sargaillons de Torgnon”. The group uses old work tools and various wooden implements devised and assembled by some of its members to accompany accordions in playing melodies and dances that evoke the local people’s everyday life and feast days. The participants’ costumes are simple and bright and are lovingly cherished as mementos of former times.

The museum, situated in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, communicating with the San Martin parish church, offers different interesting details:

• a rare Christ on the column, which can be dated back to around the middle of the 14th century;

• a Saint James (unfortunately damaged) from the middle of the 15th century, attributed to the same author of the Saint Maurice of Moron (St-Vincent) and the great Saint Christopher of Saint-Étienne (Aosta);

• a Holy Bishop from the 14th century, accompanied by two altar boys: this is probably the group that decorated the church’s high altar in the 14th and 15th centuries;

• a Madonna and Child and Saints James and Martin, patron saints of the church. These are the most precious works in the museum, dating back at the start of the 16th century, and probably coming from an altar which had to replace the pre-existing one. The three sculptures are from the German school and were propably created in the workshop of Jorg Lederer, sculptor from Allgau, active throughout the first half of the 16th century in Swabia and the Tyrol area.

The territory known as Petit-Monde includes the two villages of Triatel and Étirol, that have maintained the typical inhabited mountain landscape.
In the village of Triatel there is an interesting ethnographical museum located inside traditional rural buildings.

A racard, or granary which is to find nowhere else in the Valley, a grandze, or rural building and a hayloft, built between 1462 and 1700, restored and displayed in a very original fashion, bear witness to a past that might otherwise be forgotten.
The tour begins on the bottom floor of the granary, with the permanent exhibition entitled “The Labyrinth of Memory”, which tells the true story of Man, the origin and evolution of the village, the life and social organisation of the inhabitants of this little corner of the past.
The texts of the exhibition, accompanied by Francesco Corni’s drawings, summarise the local history, and are easy to follow even for children.
As visitors take a look around the numerous inside rooms, the “tsé” and “tzambron”, they can build up a realistic picture of the hard lives led by the local people in the past, governed by the slow rhythm of the work in the fields. The silence brings memories and imagination alive, and visitors can almost hear the ancient sounds of the village, smell the hay and the wheat and the animals. Every day in the summer, the museum “square” is filled with visitors chatting away just like the local mountain folk, and the museum becomes no longer a place to recall the past, but a lively, bustling present.
The tour ends with a visit to the mill, just a short distance away on the Petit Monde torrent.

How to get there
In order to fully appreciate the place, the museum and the surrounding nature, it is advisable to walk to the museum, so you can admire the splendid views over Torgnon, the Valtournenche and the Matterhorn.

The place can easily be reached on foot, although it is also accessible by car, along the same narrow asphalt road, popular with walkers, about 1.8 km long.