Churches and shrines: Champoluc/Ayas/Antagnod

Located in the small district of Bisous, just 1 Km from Antagnod; it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snow, celebrated on the 5th of August.

CHAPEL OF S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA: this beautiful chapel is situated in the district of Lignod di Ayas, on its facade it has a painting by Franz Curta from Gressoney, dated 1875. The theme shows “Universal Judgement”.

CHAPEL OF PILAZ: the district of Pilaz is approximately 3 km before Champoluc. The chapel, which dates back to 1746, is dedicated to Michael the Archangel.

CHAPEL OF BISOUS: situated in the small district of Bisous, 1 Km from Antagnod, it is dedicated to the Madonna delle Nevi, celebrated on the 5th of August.

CHAPEL OF PRACHARBON: dedicated to St. Martin, it dates back to 1736 and rises up in the middle of the forest, along the old dirt road that links Ayas to Brusson. It is only visible from the outside.

The chapel dates from two very different ages: the presbytery, with its vault and ribbed ceiling, is dated to the end of the XV century - from the age of the great merchant George of Challant, and in fact the Challant coat of arms is found on the vault keystone leading one to believe that the family continued to contribute to the construction of the chapel, while the nave dates from the XVIII century. The chapel is named after the Visitation. The main altar is in carved wood that is painted and partly gilded. At the centre of four twisted columns, the statue of the Virgin with Child, on the left St. Paul and to the right St. Barbara. Up high, St. Peter pontificates from a central hollow.

Dedicated to Maria Auxilium Christianorum. The chapel was built by the parish priest Dandrès in 1840. It appears that on Palm Sunday the chapel was visited to bless the olive palms, a tradition that continues to present day.

Only the lower part of the perimeter walls and the choir remains of the primitive church with three naves and enormous pillars and centred arches. The presbytery was raised first around 1600 when the first Baroque altar was built, then again in 1700, when this altar was restored and given its current dimensions. The three naves were demolished in the vaults, in the pillars and in the upper section of the perimeter walls in 1851, by the parish priest Dandrès, who then replaced the pillars with beautiful monolithic columns made of local stone, before then raising the entire building. With their harmonious structure, the vaults are meant to give a certain impetus to the entire church. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, the new church was consecrated on the 24th of October 1852.

Interesting details

- Main altar: the fruit of various centuries of work (1500-1800), it is divided up horizontally into three strips. The central zone is from the beginning of the 18th century (but the five statues in the alcoves are certainly older and may be attributed to the 16th century). The lower and upper zones were created in 1713 by the carvers Gilardi and Minaldi from Valsesia. Around the middle of the 19th century, the parish priest Dandrès had the tabernacle remade. The altar was consecrated on the 29th of May 1716.

- Baptistry: sculpted in 1838, during the era of the parish priest Dandrès, it shows the scene of Saint John the Baptist baptising Jesus as the Holy Spirit, in the form of dove, lands on Jesus and the Father, surrounded by angles says: “This is my chosen son, listen to him”.

- Pulpit: in walnut, it contains sculptures of certain scenes from the Gospel. Above the pulpit there is a sort of canopy that was used to diffuse the voice of the preacher.

- Choir: made of walnut, it has twelve sculpted heads, which are characteristic and highly expressive in their genre.

- Bell tower: probably built at the same time as the church, in the 15th century. In 1856-57 the archpriest Dandrès had its rise demolished, he re-raised it by 10 metres and added a Byzantine style dome, under which he positioned a marble statue of the Immaculate Virgin. He then enriched the bell tower with a magnificent concert of ten bells, tuned in to each other, which form a stupendous “carillon” during days of celebration. The bell tower is 49 metres high.

- Side altars: on the right, beginning from the entrance, the altar of St. Anselm and that of St. Joseph, from the 19th century, the altar of the Virgin, from the 17th century, reworked during the nineteenth century, with a statue of the Madonna of Oropa. On the left, at the entrance, the altar of St. Anthony and the altar of the Rosary, from the 19th century, the altar of the Most Blessed Trinity, from the 17th century, re-worked during the nineteenth century. The canvas by the painter Curtax of Gressoney is from this era, it shows the Trinity and the Holy Family.

- Portal: from 1839, made of walnut, it shows the events of the life of St. Martin of Tours. The famous scene of sharing the cloak with the poor man, depicted on the lunette above the door, is older (1779).

- Windows: dating from the early years of the 20th century.

A sacred art museum has been created near the parish church, in the chapel of the cemetery of Antagnod, dating back to the end of the 15th century.

In the square, immediately after the bridge, there are two churches side by side, both dedicated to Sant’Anna. The oldest of the two already existed in 1659, but was rebuilt and completed with a bell tower in 1715. Here in 1770 a school was founded, with the obligation to teach Latin up to third class. It was then interdicted in 1821 due to its miserable conditions, but it re-emerged in 1840 thanks to the work of the parish priest of Ayas, D’Andrès. In 1946 it became independent from Antagnod. The new church was consecrated by the bishop of Aosta, Monsignor Lari, on the 30th of August 1970.

INTERESTING DETAILS
- The main altar and the two side altars are from the eighteenth century: they are made of wood and have good carvings.
This altar was transported to the new church
- Some precious objects originating from the mother church of Antagnod

Dedicated to St. Martin, dating from 1736 and built amid woodland, along an old mule track linking Ayas to Brusson. Visible only from outside.

Barmasc is a district upstream of Antagnod, at an altitude of 1,828 metres. The sanctuary, dedicated to “Notre-Dame du Bon Secours”, immediately attracted crowds of pilgrims from far off parishes: the processions are still well known that arrived in the past from La Magdeleine, Chamois, Antey and the two Challands, to appeal for rain, which often came. A preferred rite was to immerge the cross in water that sprang from under the chapel. On the 15th July 1990 the sanctuary witnessed its greatest moment, with a visit from Pope John Paul II. The characteristic and picturesque footpath  (nr. 105) leading to the sanctuary starts from Ville Rivetti in Antagnod.

Situated in the Periasc district of Ayas, the chapel was restored by the parish priest Dandrès in 1861, as one can read on the facade: “Commencee et mise a couvert en 1861 finie en 1863 et benie le 11 octobre meme annee”; a dedication over the door reads “A la plus grande gloire de Dieu a l’honneur de l’immaculee et des glorieux S. Pierre et S. Defendent”.