Venues of the Valloire Baroque Festival

The Valloire Baroque Festival takes place in unique venues where heritage and music come together naturally. Here, each space shapes the listening experience and plays a key role in the emotional impact of the concert.

Living Heritage

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Moments in Time

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Listening in a Different Way

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Stone & Resonance

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Memories of the Region

Living Heritage ✳︎ Frozen Moments ✳︎ Listening Differently ✳︎ Stone & Resonance ✳︎ Local History

Partially built on a boulder deposited by the Valloirette Glacier, in the center of the basin and flanked by the houses of the village center—known as Place—it can be seen from all the villages, except those in the Tiers Dessus, which cannot view it because it is obscured by the bend in the valley and by the Rocher Saint-Pierre. Built on the same site as a smaller earlier structure, likely in the Romanesque style, the parish church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption was rebuilt and decorated between 1630 and 1682 in the Baroque style, which was so widespread in Savoy due to its status as a state spanning both sides of the Alps.

This reconstruction, necessitated by the growth of the local population (more than 3,000 inhabitants by 1630), was carried out in strict accordance with the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, as defined by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent.

Hence the vivid colors of the paintings and the grandiose decoration of angels and garlands in the stucco work of the choir loft above the large altarpiece carved by François Rimelin of Chambéry, with a gilded tabernacle above the altar that underscores the importance of the Eucharist. The church also features eight side altars, whose paintings reflect both the devotions cherished at the time and the popularity of pilgrimages to sites in Piedmont (Oropa) or near the Adriatic (Loreto). The nave’s vault, painted in trompe-l’œil, features medallions depicting scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ. This monument, renowned for the richness of its furnishings and decor, was listed as a Historic Monument in 1945.

The Baroque Church of Valloire

For travelers descending into the Valloire valley, the view of the Galibier is blocked by a pair of limestone spurs, Poingt-Ravier and Rocher Saint-Pierre, a glacial barrier. Hikers halfway up the slope can admire a magnificent Neo-Gothic chapel, Saint-Pierre, built in 1858. The building stands isolated near a grassy hillock, once topped by a castle that belonged to the bishops of Maurienne, who demanded payments in kind and labor from the inhabitants of Valloire. Soon, local notables residing in the village’s fine houses became castellan on behalf of the bishop. By the 16th century, the castle lay in ruins. The ski trail on the left as you ascend has largely erased the traces of the village of Les Sellettes, which used the castle chapel as a place of worship. Residents of Valloire recall that this village was still inhabited in the 1950s; today, two ruined houses remain in a grove, thus permanently concealing the village’s existence.

St. Peter's Chapel

Since 1992,the Association Cinéma et Culture Maurienne has been offering a cultural program of live performances and films for everyone.

Its arthouse cinema screens 8 to 10 films per week and offers special screenings for young audiences and families, vulnerable and isolated groups, school groups, and more. Its stage hosts about fifteen performances a year, including theater, dance, circus, storytelling, music, puppetry, and digital art. Numerous outreach activities related to these programs are organized, including discussions, debates, and workshops. Its auditorium can seat up to 188 people.

Finally, everyone can get involved, in their own way, in the association’s collective efforts so that they can become not just spectators, but active participants in their cultural life.

Le Savoie Cultural Center, Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne

Website for La Traverse concerts since 2018 (with the exception of Valloire Enchanté).

This magnificent multipurpose hall was built above the fire station; it hosts numerous cultural events organized by the town. It is named after one of the great pioneers of winter tourism in Valloire, who built the resort’s first ski lift in 1937.

The Gabriel Julliard Hall

The Chapel of the Three Crosses

Forget the road. Take the path lined with wild grasses, low stone walls, and willows that stretch their old scars toward the sky.

Take the path built by men for the mules to pass, or the one worn by the footsteps of flocks to ease the shepherds’ toil. Set out on the path—this shelter from the storm and the whims of the seasons—and follow it to the Chapel of Life, where the wood of three crosses embraces the land. Take the path, then set your bag down on the flower-covered grass and forget the road.

This reconstruction, necessitated by the growth of the local population (more than 3,000 inhabitants by 1630), was carried out in strict accordance with the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, as defined by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent.

Hence the vivid colors of the paintings and the grandiose decoration of angels and garlands in the stucco work of the choir loft above the large altarpiece carved by François Rimelin of Chambéry, with a gilded tabernacle above the altar that underscores the importance of the Eucharist. The church also features eight side altars, whose paintings reflect both the devotions cherished at the time and the popularity of pilgrimages to sites in Piedmont (Oropa) or near the Adriatic (Loreto). The nave’s vault, painted in trompe-l’œil, features medallions depicting scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ. This monument, renowned for the richness of its furnishings and decor, was listed as a Historic Monument in 1945.

The Poingt-Ravier Chapel

This chapel, built in 1624 just above the hamlet, serves as a landmark for the residents of Tiers Dessus. Featuring a bell tower porch, it has a modestly decorated sanctuary with, above the altar, a painting depicting Mary Magdalene pouring perfume on Christ’s feet. This devotion developed starting in the 17th century, as Mary Magdalene became, after Saint Bernard of the Alps, the patron saint of mountain passes. Indeed, at the bottom of the Valloirette Valley, one can see the small valleys leading, to the left toward the Col des Rochilles and to the right toward the Col du Galibier—two border passes that, prior to 1860, connected Savoie with the French Dauphiné.

The hamlet of Poingt-Rogereil

Until the 19th century, the hamlet of Poingt-Rogereil was inhabited year-round. Its distance from the other villages of Valloire, combined with a mountain trail that was impassable in winter, led to its abandonment.

Today, in the summer, there is an active alpine sheepfold and a few old chalets that vacationers have brought back to life. Until just a few years ago, a ski trail descending from the Crêt du Quart wound gently its way between the houses, which lay dormant beneath their snow-fringed roofs. On beautiful summer days, hikers pass through here, coming from the Col des Trois-Croix or the meadows of the Aiguille Noire valley.

“Poingt” comes from the Latin *podium* and means a hillock or low mountain. As for “Rogereil,” it is a remnant of the surnames “Roger” and “Rogeraux,” which have since disappeared. However, Blaise Rogerel left his name to the chapel built on the same mountainside, at l’Archat, since he founded it in 1653… It was during this era that the Baroque arts flourished, and they endure today for our greatest pleasure!

The hamlet of Bonnenuit

Bonne-Nuit… What a strange name for a mountain village! It is the first hamlet of Valloire when coming from the Galibier, and for a long time the most populous, as some fifty families lived here in the 19th century. Its name is said to come from an inn that bore these two words as its sign. Over the centuries, the troops of Francis I, those of the Infante Don Philip of Spain, and those of Marshal De Berwick in the service of Louis XV have all passed through Bonne-Nuit, and today our artillerymen’s firing range is not far away!

Let’s look up. From Sétaz-Vieille flows a torrent that was once feared. Opposite lies the triptych of the Aiguilles d’Arves, where the first footprints were left by two men from Valloire, the Magnin brothers, in 1839… Before us, in the background, stands the twin peaks of the Grand-Galibier. It is the protector of the valley, along with Saint Gras and Notre-Dame des Neiges, invoked in the village’s two chapels. And there, nearby, on the other side of the Valloirette, herds of chamois graze on the grass under the watchful eye of a solitary, gentle Swiss stone pine.

On the paths of Bonne-Nuit, baby marmots sometimes dart out unexpectedly, only to be called back to caution by their mother’s cry, and when the evening breeze sweeps through the valley, it is a heavenly melody that lifts our spirits.

List of concerts at La Traverse between 2014 and 2017

Thanks to the efforts of two organizations—“Valloire Art Contemporain” and “Les Amis du Festival Valloire Baroque”—the Scierie has been brought back to life. Martine Rapin, its owner, shares both happy and sad memories tied to its history: “The Scierie belonged to my father, who was passionate about wood. It was an exceptional place. Whole trees were hauled in using winches from the surrounding forests, turned into “planks,” and then into all sorts of objects that he loved to assemble. And then came the mudslide. Everything was destroyed—just like my father’s spirit…” To honor his father’s memory, Mr. RAPIN wanted to turn this building into a place for art and community; what better way to start than by welcoming very talented young ensembles.