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Ayas

1.635 meters

Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands Sén Djaco

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

The place name Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands (Sén Djaco in patois) reveals the Germanic origins of this high-altitude village which, in a strategic position together with its small hamlets of a few houses scattered along the right side of the Evançon, forms part of a territory colonized, starting from the 12th–13th century, by a population from Upper Valais, the Oberwallis (hence the name of its inhabitants, the Walliser or Walser).

Protagonists of an impressive migration toward the valleys south of Monte Rosa in search of new pastures and land to cultivate, the Walser reached the Val d’Ayas and the Gressoney Valley by crossing the Montservin (present-day Colle del Teodulo) and the Colle delle Cime Bianche along a mule track heavily frequented by merchants and pilgrims, a communication route favored by the climatic optimum of a historical period in which glaciers were easier to cross.

The Canton des Allemands

(Canton of the Germans), as the head of the valley was called, together with Saint-Jacques and the other scattered communities, was an autonomous and self-sufficient world, equipped with the tools necessary for the survival of its inhabitants. As in all villages, there were mills, ovens, sawmills, forges, and even a small school, founded in 1768, connected to the Rectory, the residence of the priest who celebrated Mass in the Chapel of Saint James the Apostle.

The abundance of particular raw materials, such as limestone and soapstone, made this territory a true cutting-edge industrial hub. Soapstone processing waste was used over time as spacers in chimneys but was also incorporated into the masonry of some buildings and into the paving of the churchyard of the Chapel of Saint James the Apostle.

Frequented by hikers undertaking crossings from one mountain pass to another, Saint-Jacques became, already in the second half of the 19th century, a sought-after mountain destination but also a place to recover energy and care for body and spirit. The memory remains vivid of the meeting in 1898 between Queen Margherita, arriving from Gressoney, and the stern Abbé Gorret, rector of the village and great mountaineer. In the 1930s, with the flourishing of mountain tourism, famous hotels opened such as the Alpi Rosa, with 50 rooms, “brand new, highly recommended,” the Grand Tournalin, and the Pensione Facciabella, while in 1936 Olivetti of Ivrea founded its first holiday camp for the children of its employees.

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Map of Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands

House of the notary Joseph Favre

The House of the notary Joseph Favre, dating back to 1731, is an emblematic example of traditional Valdostan architecture, featuring an imposing rascard rising at the rear of the Rettoria, at the beginning of the path towards the Colle della Bettaforcaz, once a vital artery between the Val d’Ayas and the Val di Gressoney. The initials IFN carved on the ridge beam bear witness to the identity of the patron, Joseph Favre, a notary active between 1711 and 1732. The two-family building develops over three masonry levels, crowned by a wooden rascard which, unlike local custom, does not rest on pillars but is protected by a band of slabs that prevents access to rodents. The base houses devotional frescoes from 1748, depicting the Madonna d’Oropa and Saints Joseph and Michael the Archangel, works of great iconographic value. The Black Madonna, dressed in purple and blue, is portrayed with the crowned Child, who holds a white bird, symbol of the Passion. Beside her, Saint Joseph, with his flowering staff, and Saint Michael the Archangel, armed with sword and scales, represent protection and judgment. Also remarkable is the structure of the drying loggias, with uprights decorated by wooden discs, a rare element in the Aosta Valley, and the two superimposed courtyards, recalling the famous rascard of France from 1721, probably the inspirational model for Favre. This building is a genuine treasure chest of rural and religious culture, telling the story and local traditions with refined elegance.

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L’immagine rappresenta la Madonna d’Oropa nella sua iconografia classica: la Vergine nera, tra nubi, vestita di porpora e ammantata di azzurro sorregge il Bambino sul braccio sinistro. Madonna e Bambino sono coronati con la tiara. Quest’ultimo tiene nella mano sinistra un uccellino bianco, simbolo della passione. La Vergine regge con la destra un pomo rosso sormontato da una croce. Madre e Figlio portano una collana di perle al collo. Esterni alla cornice sono dipinti alcuni fregi.
L’immagine rappresenta la Madonna d’Oropa nella sua iconografia classica: la Vergine nera, tra nubi, vestita di porpora e ammantata di azzurro sorregge il Bambino sul braccio sinistro. Madonna e Bambino sono coronati con la tiara. Quest’ultimo tiene nella mano sinistra un uccellino bianco, simbolo della passione. La Vergine regge con la destra un pomo rosso sormontato da una croce. Madre e Figlio portano una collana di perle al collo. Esterni alla cornice sono dipinti alcuni fregi.
San Giuseppe, sulla sinistra, vestito di azzurro e ammantato di bruno, regge il lungo bastone fiorito che divide idealmente la composizione in senso verticale. In alto, tra le nubi, lo Spirito Santo, sotto forma della mistica colomba, irradia raggi di luce. Sulla destra, l’Arcangelo Michele, capo della schiera celeste, è rappresentato secondo l’iconografia tradizionale mentre regge con la sinistra la spada con la quale sconfiggerà, nel giorno del Giudizio, gli angeli ribelli, e con la destra la bilancia con due anime posate sui piatti, allusione al suo compito di ‘pesatore di anime’.
San Giuseppe, sulla sinistra, vestito di azzurro e ammantato di bruno, regge il lungo bastone fiorito che divide idealmente la composizione in senso verticale. In alto, tra le nubi, lo Spirito Santo, sotto forma della mistica colomba, irradia raggi di luce. Sulla destra, l’Arcangelo Michele, capo della schiera celeste, è rappresentato secondo l’iconografia tradizionale mentre regge con la sinistra la spada con la quale sconfiggerà, nel giorno del Giudizio, gli angeli ribelli, e con la destra la bilancia con due anime posate sui piatti, allusione al suo compito di ‘pesatore di anime’.

Chapel of San Giacomo Apostolo

The Chapel of San Giacomo Apostolo stands on a site of ancient tradition, bearing witness to a long religious and cultural history rooted in the Middle Ages. Rebuilt in 1872 by the parish priest Auguste Clos upon the foundations of a sixteenth-century church, this chapel is dedicated to San Giacomo Apostolo, patron saint of travelers, symbolizing pilgrimage and protection along the historic route to Switzerland. The interior ceiling, adorned with a starry sky, ideally evokes the “Campus Stellae” of Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of European pilgrims. The exterior is enriched by a nineteenth-century fresco by Franz Curta depicting the Holy Family flanked by San Giacomo and San Martino, the latter portrayed in episcopal vestments, while the triptych on the base of the bell tower, a divisionist work by Ettore Morteo, represents the Virgin Regina Vallis between San Giovanni Battista and San Giorgio, the latter engaged in slaying the dragon, symbolizing the struggle between good and evil. Inside, one can find a refined holy water font carved from soapstone and the statue of San Giacomo, as well as traces of a fifteenth-century fresco. A unique feature is the churchyard, constructed with “torsoli,” that is, the remnants of worked soapstone, a testament to the local artisanal tradition. Thanks also to the interventions of the rector Don Michele Do in the 1950s and ’60s, the chapel preserves intact the charm of a place of worship that narrates the spiritual and artistic history of Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands.

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Particolare unico nel suo genere è il sagrato davanti al portale di ingresso, formato dagli scarti di lavorazione (‘torsoli’) dei contenitori in pietra ollare di cui Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands era un fiorente centro di produzione.
Particolare unico nel suo genere è il sagrato davanti al portale di ingresso, formato dagli scarti di lavorazione (‘torsoli’) dei contenitori in pietra ollare di cui Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands era un fiorente centro di produzione.
La Sacra Famiglia è affiancata, sulla destra, da San Martino, in abiti vescovili e, sulla sinistra, da San Giacomo Maggiore, apostolo di Gesù, in veste di pellegrino. Triangolo con l’occhio di dio e la scritta DIEU VOIT TOUT (Dio vede tutto) Cielo stellato (CAMPUS STELLAE), riferimento al Santuario di Compostela
La Sacra Famiglia è affiancata, sulla destra, da San Martino, in abiti vescovili e, sulla sinistra, da San Giacomo Maggiore, apostolo di Gesù, in veste di pellegrino. Triangolo con l’occhio di dio e la scritta DIEU VOIT TOUT (Dio vede tutto) Cielo stellato (CAMPUS STELLAE), riferimento al Santuario di Compostela
Composizione a trittico raffigurante al centro la Vergine REGINA VALLIS, vestita di bianco e cinta in vita da una fascia celeste. A sinistra è San Giovanni Battista con i classici attributi iconografici (abito di pelo di cammello, croce con cartiglio ECCE AGNVS DEI) e agnello ai suoi piedi. A destra è San Giorgio nell’atto di sconfiggere con la lancia il drago ai suoi piedi. Sullo sfondo delle tre figure compaiono monti innevati.
Composizione a trittico raffigurante al centro la Vergine REGINA VALLIS, vestita di bianco e cinta in vita da una fascia celeste. A sinistra è San Giovanni Battista con i classici attributi iconografici (abito di pelo di cammello, croce con cartiglio ECCE AGNVS DEI) e agnello ai suoi piedi. A destra è San Giorgio nell’atto di sconfiggere con la lancia il drago ai suoi piedi. Sullo sfondo delle tre figure compaiono monti innevati.

Casa Favre Joy

The Child holds in his left hand a small white bird, symbol of the Passion, while the Virgin holds in her right hand a red orb surmounted by a cross. Mother and Son wear a pearl necklace around their necks. The Baptist, cloaked in red, holds the lamb and the cross with the scroll ECCE AGNVS DEI. Saint James, known as the Greater, the first martyred apostle and brother of Saint John the Evangelist, wears the typical pilgrim’s garment and carries a staff with a dried gourd. Beneath the two figures are the inscriptions S. IOANNES BAPTISTA …S. IACOBO MAIOR.

 
 
 

Rectory

The rector lived here, the priest who ensured his presence in the village to celebrate Mass in the Chapel every Sunday and on feast days, to visit the sick, administer the sacraments, and also teach children how to read and write. From 1768, the Rectory also housed the school. Most of the rectors who succeeded one another from 1879 to 1986 made improvements both to the Chapel and to the Rectory itself, now no longer in use. A plaque commemorates the twenty-year stay of Abbé Gorret, also known as the hermit of Saint-Jacques, priest, scholar, and great mountaineer, involved in the first ascent of the Italian side of the Matterhorn on July 17, 1865.

Oven

The triangular oven mouth opens into a small building with a pitched roof covered in stone slabs, leaning against a large erratic boulder blackened by combustion smoke. On the wall to the right of the oven mouth, the date 1872 is painted. Owned by the village and still in use in 1946, it could bake up to 70 kg of bread per firing.

 
 
 

Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

 

The grotto was erected in 1914 by Abbé Jean-Baptiste Lemonnier, originally from France, who, having remained in Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands as rector of the Chapel from 1905 to 1925, introduced and spread among the inhabitants of the valley the devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. A commemorative plaque recalls and celebrates his work.

The Rectors of Saint-Jacques

 
 

Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne (from 1879 to 1883)

A shepherd boy, chimney sweep, soldier, and cook before becoming a priest, he was widely known and esteemed in the Aosta Valley for his numerous literary works and as a poet in patois. He is credited with the first Dictionnaire du patois valdôtain, and even today the competition held in schools to preserve the mother tongue of the Aosta Valley people bears his name (“Concours Cerlogne”). As rector, he renovated the Rectory stable to turn it into the village school.

Amé Gorret (from 1884 to 1905)

During his long stay in the Rectory of Saint-Jacques, the abbé Gorret authored a valuable autobiography, the Illustrated Guide to the Valley of Challant or Ayas, and letters and articles signed “the Bear of the Mountain” or “the Hermit of Saint-Jacques.” He led an adventurous life devoted not only to study and priesthood but also to the emerging field of mountaineering. Born in Valtournenche in 1836 into a family of mountain guides and priests, he was sent to study at the college in Aosta, where he was ordained priest in 1861. Assigned as vicar to Champorcher, he met Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Italy for only a few months, returning from a hunting holiday, and became a close friend of his despite the Church’s opposition to the newly formed unified State, to which Gorret never forgave the abolition of French as the official language of the Aosta Valley. After leaving Champorcher, he began a wandering life from parish to parish, ending in 1884 with a twenty-year stay — a sort of exile — in Saint-Jacques.

His name is also linked to the first ascent of the Matterhorn from the Italian side on July 16, 1865, two days after the summit had been conquered via the Swiss route by the Englishman Whymper. Gorret did not reach the summit himself, but he enabled his rope companions, led by the Valdostan Carrel, to reach the top by lowering them through the only possible passage. He saw in the study of the territory and in tourism an opportunity for both material and moral progress for the people of the Aosta Valley, firmly convinced of the strengthening power of the mountains.

Jean-Baptiste Lemonnier (from 1905 to 1925)

He introduced and spread among the inhabitants of the valley the devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes by having a reproduction of the grotto of Notre-Dame de Lourdes built at the entrance to the village in 1914. Inside the Rectory, he created a room (la Petite Chapelle) where Mass could be celebrated during the cold winter months. In 1906, with the support of the population and of the Bishop of Aosta J. Auguste Duc, he obtained authorization from Rome to keep the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of Saint-Jacques.

Jean-Baptiste Favre (from 1925 to 1928)

Rector and teacher, a man of strong and hospitable character as well as a brilliant preacher, he began his priestly service in Valtournenche in 1903 before moving to Val d’Ayas. He remained in Saint-Jacques for only three years and died in exile from his valley in order to escape persecution by the Fascist regime.

Don Michele Do (from 1945 to 1986)

The last priest to be appointed to the Rectory of Saint-Jacques, originally from Piedmont (unlike the other rectors, who were Valdostan or French), he requested to move to the small village in order to meditate and spread the evangelical message to the local community, with which he fully integrated.

A strong and highly original figure both as a man and as a believer, at once reserved and distant from every form of public appearance, he was a passionate pastor and organizer of meetings with some of the most significant figures of thoughtful Christianity in the second half of the 20th century. In Saint-Jacques and slightly higher up, in the hamlet of Blanchard at Casa Favre (once a small hotel), Don Michele welcomed the people who climbed up to speak with him, listen to him, or participate in Mass in total recollection. It was also at Casa Favre that he retired in his old age and founded the “Little Fraternity of Casa Favre,” a “boarding house-fraternity, a place of friendship and open spirituality.”

Don Michele Do is responsible for the open-air church, inaugurated on the Feast of the Assumption in 1967, just a few steps from the village’s central square: in a clearing, rows of benches are arranged in a semicircle around an altar formed by joining together three large millstones from the old mill of Pilaz. A wooden statue of Mary and two small suspended bells protected by a fir tree contribute to the sacredness of the place.

 
 
 

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