La Haute Maurienne – Site 03

Bonneval‐sur‐Arc (1 800 m)

The vernacular architecture of this village has been harmoniously preserved over the centuries. Parish church of Notre‐Dame‐de‐l’Assomption (Our Lady of the Assumption)
In 1532, due to heavy snowfall which prevented the parishioners from going to Mass in the church of Bessans, the bishop of Saint‐Jean de Maurienne stablished Bonneval as an independent parish. A 1737 votive painting, signed by Geoffroy, an artist from Modane who produced numerous paintings in Haute Maurienne, is now kept in the Musée Savoisien of Chambéry. It represents the Holy Shroud held by the Virgin Mary, with two bishops on either side of her. In its lower section can be seen the souls in the flames of Purgatory praying for their salvation and Saint Charles Borromeo, the archbishop of Milan. Numerous chapels and oratories bear witness to the faith of the inhabitants, who were regularly subjected to harsh weather conditions. Among the most remarkable ones are the Chapelle de Notre‐Dame‐des‐Grâces (Our Lady of Graces) in the village, the Chapelle Sainte‐Marguerite in the hamlet of Ecot which the oldest one (its apse predates the eleventh century and it includes a mural painting representing the Crucifixion whose origin could not be determined), and the Chapelles Saint‐Clair at the Ecot dam (which were built around the same time as Notre‐Dame‐de‐l’Assomption).