Valadas Occitanas

MENU OF VISIT - ITALIAN VALLEYS

Villar San Costanzo - Sanctuary of San Costanzo al Monte onte
	THE PROVENÇAL BASILICA
Villar San Costanzo - The Parish Church of St. Peter in Chains
	A CONTINUAL EVOLUTION
Macra - The Chapel of San Salvatore
	THE SAINTLY SALVATORE
Macra - Chapel of San Pietro.
	CHURCH, REFUGE OR LAZARETTO?
Celle Macra - The Chapel of San Sebastiano
	A RARE ALTAR
Stroppo - Church of San Peyre
	A HIDDEN TREASURE
Elva - Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta
	MIDWAY BETWEEN SACRED AND PROFANE
Limone - The Parish Church of San Pietro in Chains
	THE CHURCH OF POPES AND EMPERORS
Borgo San Dalmazzo - The parish church of san dalmazzo
	ORA ET LABORA
Vinadio - The Parish Church of San Fiorenzo
	A SURVIVOR CHURCH
Sambuco - Pietraporzio - Aisone: Bell Towers
	THE VALLEYS OF THE BELL-TOWERS
Bastia Mondovì: The Chapel of Saint Fiorenzo
	326 METRES OF COLOUR
Roccaforte Mondovì - The Parish Church of Saint Maurizio
	DON’T JUDGE BY APPEARANCES
Boves - Madonna dei Boschi Sanctuary
	THE MADONNA DEI BOSCHI
Chiusa Pesio - The Carthusian Monastery of Santa Maria
	CHURCH AND FARM
Caraglio - Church of Saint John the Baptist
	A FEMININE CHURCH
Valgrana - The Chapel of Saints Bernardo and Mauro
	AN OPEN CHURCH
Castelmagno - The Sanctuary of San Magno
	SANCTUARY, CUSTOMS HOUSE AND HOSPICE
Rossana - The Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta
	A FAÇADE CHURCH
Sampeyre - The Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul
	THE TEMPLE OF THE BIASACCI BROTHERS
Casteldelfino- The Parish Church of Santa Margherita
	AN ANIMATED CHURCH
Bellino - Chianale - Ancient Parish Churches
	IN THE HEART OF CHASTELADA
Manta - Valerano Castle
	LE CHEVALIER ERRANT
Saluzzo - The Church and Convent of Saint Giovanni
	ALPINE FLORENCE
Sant’Ambrogio Torinese - Sacra di San Michele
	UGONE LO SCUCITO
Bardonecchia - Horres Hamlet - Chapel of Saints Andrew and James.
	SINNERS AND SAINTS
Bardonecchia - The Chapel of The Madonna del Coignet
	PAIN AND SUFFERING
Bardonecchia - Melezet Hamlet - The Chapel of Saint Sisto
	A LABYRINTH OF CROSSES
Sauze d’Oulx - Jouvenceaux Hamlet - Church of St. Antony
	FORESTS AND NATIONAL MONUMENTS
Salbertrand - The Parish of Saint John the Baptist
	THE HAMLET OF BERTA
Pragelato - Church of Saint Lorenzo and Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
	*VAUDÉS E BARBETS*
Lusernetta - Chapel of San Bernardo
	A DIVINE DIALOGUE
Staffarda - The Abbey of Santa Maria
	MONKS AND PEASANTS
Revello - Collegiata dell’Assunta
	THE REIGN OF THE POLYPTYCH
Castellar - Chapel of Saint Ponzio
	SAINT PONZIO, ALIAS SAINT SEBASTIANO
Crissolo - The Sanctuary of Saint Chiaffredo
	THE LEGEND OF SAINT CHIAFFREDO

Ellero, Corsaglia, Pesio, Vermenagna, Roja, Tinée, Gesso, Stura, Grana, Maira, Varaita, Po, Pellice, Chisone, Dora Dora are the names of the great Alpine valleys, which would not exist without water. The watercourse provided a vital, and often unique life source, and was so deeply eradicated in the life of the local area and of the valley, that there was no need to even call it by name: the river was commonly known simply as the aiga, or the great aiga, water par excellence. The distinctive sound of flowing streams and waterfalls, still today blends with the sounds of the human and animal life which live of it. During the transhumance, a rite of almost biblical origins, reminiscent of nomadic life and the verses of Leopardi, hundreds of animals move with a slow and rhythmic movement: the houses are filled with the sounds of bells, and the deep and profound voices of the pastres, berjers and marguiers, which accompany them.

"If I had to describe the character of the men and women of the Lower Alps, I would compare them to the Valley of the Ubaye: much hardship and hard work, the eternal conflict between the water and stone, and the road that they have had to etch through darkness and shadow". This is how Jean Giono, who lived between the Lure mountains and the deep gorges of the gorges of Verdon, described the Alpine landscape, a severe landscape which has the ability to become suddenly mellow and welcoming: "an apple tree in blossom, a daisy covered field, a grazing goat, a small cottage with geraniums outside or a chalet at high altitude, in which the life of brave men is enacted".

Men have always lived in Occitania, …… whilst as concerns the quality of life some regions have been more fortunate than others. The Alpine Provençal peoples have however always resisted hardship, and have striven to find the best exposure for their sites, following the adrec, ad rectum solem, and avoiding the shadow of the ubac, ad opacum. Until the houses of the lòbia in wood, the barrel vaults with a single room, became too narrow; the meira, the truna, and the granja too cold and distance. This resulted in the arrival of basket makers, glaziers, grinders, anchovy sellers, and fabric sellers, wet nurses, cooks and umbrella makers. The main virtues of these valley inhabitants therefore being courage and creativity. The courage to leave their families, even if only for a season, and to face the unknown, and the creativity to set up new activities from nothing.