Churches and shrines: Perloz

In the main village of Perloz, this 17th century chapel is dedicated to San Rocco who, in artistic iconography, usually presents the shell and pilgrim’s stick as distinctive elements and is thus represented in the central fresco on the facade.
Inside, the painting on the altar represents the Saint with the dog, in the act of lifting his robe to show the signs of the plague.

Nel villaggio di Plan-De-Brun, al lato della antica mulattiera che sale al borgo di Perloz e lungo l’itinerario escursionistico Cammino Balteo, si affaccia la cappella dedicata alla Santissima Trinità che pare esistesse già nel XVIII secolo come risulta da una visita pastorale svoltasi nel 1786.

L’edificio venne ricostruito nel 1835 a spese di un abitante del villaggio.
Sul lato destro sorgono la sacrestia ed il campanile che ancora oggi reca evidenti segni di colpi di mitragliatrice essendo stato teatro di scontri tra partigiani e nazifascisti nel 1944 durante la lotta di liberazione.

La facciata richiama in parte l’architettura del santuario di Notre-Dame-De-la-Garde con un portico a tre archi davanti all’ingresso.

L’altare maggiore è in muratura, sovrastato da una cornice in legno intagliato e dipinto che racchiude una tela raffigurante l’incoronazione della Vergine ed i santi Pantaleone, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni evangelista, Vittore, Bartolomeo, Caterina e Anna.
Gli altari laterali sono in legno intagliato dipinto e dorato dedicati al Sacro Cuore di Gesù e al Sacro Cuore di Maria.

Looking at the church dedicated to Saint Joseph, in the village of Tour d’Héréraz, the medieval tower stands out, which today is its bell tower. At that time, many travelers passed the waters of the Lys stream over the nearby Pont Moretta bridge, located downstream from the church, and this tower was used to control wayfarers and the passage of goods. It was part of a fortified complex donated to the Tour d’Héréraz community by a descendant of the Vallaise family in the second half of the 19th century.

In 1878, the year of the church’s consecration, the tower was transformed into a bell tower by modifying its terminal part to make room for the belfry. At a height of seven meters you can still see the ancient access door with an architrave surmounted by a blind arch.

The church is generally closed.

In the past Salvador’s Church held a very important role because the parish of Perloz covered the entire Lys valley. Later, from the end of 1100, independent parishes were established in the surrounding areas.
It is not known exactly when it was built, with some saying around 772, however it was probably built around the year 1000. Only the bell-tower (its base is from the IX or X century, however the upper parts are more recent) of the original building remains because it was entirely demolished in the early seventeenth century to make way for the new church.
The church, which was built between 1616 and 1620 in the same place as the previous one, has remained almost intact to present day. It has a rectangular plan and is composed of a single nave with three ribbed vaults.

The main facade is frescoed with a painting depicting the Last Judgement dating back to 1676. Inside, one can observe the main altar in black marble and multi-coloured wooden inlay. There are beautiful panels with statues of St. Orso, St. Gratus, St. John the Baptist, St. James the Evangelist and obviously St. Salvador, which is positioned to the centre. The relic contains a thorn said to be from Christ’s crown brought to the church during The Crusades.

The first construction of the shrine seems to date back to the 12th century, given the casual finding of a statue of the Madonna, according to tradition, which was probably hidden during the era of the barbaric invasions. It was extended between 1715 and 1718.

The facade is very elegant, with a portico supported by four columns. The interior, frescoed in the nineteenth century by the Avondo brothers, was covered with ribbed vaults and small, votive squares and displays of popular faith and gratitude for the “grace received”. The three wooden altars from the eighteenth century and the statue of the miraculous Virgin Mary seated with Child (14th century) are worth noting. The inner windowsill of the facade, on the left, has an oval stone used as an “élémosinaire” or “chaplain”, with the inscription IHS and the Vallaise shield. The square in front of the church hosts a beautiful fountain with a column, a mask dated 1642, and a base dug from a single block of stone.
The back of the church has a bell-tower and a house for pilgrims, with an elegant portico with a view out towards the flatland.