1.565 meters

Èriu Èriù

Les Fusines Li Fejeune – 1.700 m
Blanchard Biantchart – 1.724 m
Rovinal Rovénal – 1.709 m
Praz-Sec Pra-Sec – 1.700 m
Les Péyoz Li Péyo – 1.725 m
Les Droles Li Drole – 1.757 m
Bernosin Bernozìn – 1.750 m

This tiny cluster of houses is not always mentioned in historical documents because it was considered part of the nearby village of Pilaz.

Èriu (Èriù in patois) can be explored quickly, yet long enough to appreciate not only the tranquility of the site, crossed by a rushing stream and surrounded by green meadows once cultivated, but also to understand its ancient origins while walking among solid stone and wooden houses, only partly restored and inhabited.

Documentary sources tell us that from 1687 to 1718 a notary active in the parish of Ayas, Jean-Claude Rieu, lived here. He belonged to a very important family in the 17th century, to which the very name of this settlement is probably connected.

Among the oldest buildings is a large house dating back to 1589, bearing the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a sign that the family held a role linked to central authority.

Dating back instead to 1625 is the multi-story house, now restored, overlooking the central square, which still preserves the original appearance of the ancient multifunctional building: a stone and wood construction that included under the same roof spaces for family life as well as agricultural and pastoral activities (stable, granary, hayloft).

Map of Bisous

The notaries of Ayas

With a decisive function in the preservation and transmission of documents through the centuries, notaries, being ducal appointees, had to respect the will of the Savoy rulers, who required them to reside within the jurisdiction’s territory. Each notary was identifiable by the Signum Tabellionis, a graphic symbol reproduced at the beginning and end of the document. Latin, the official language of deeds, was replaced, following a decree of 1561, by French, the language “intelligible au pays d’Aouste”. The first notary of Ayas known to us is Petrus de Ayacio, author of an important document: the will of the lord Ebalo di Challant in 1323.
 

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