We drove to Haute Maurienne where Christian and I had already been to a few years back in search of the treasures of Sacred Art circumscribed to "The paths of the Baroque". This time we were to have privileged access to more than one of the many chapels worth being visited within the area.
Prior to having been guided through the amazingly beautiful frescoes that cover both the Chapel of Saint Sebastian and Saint Anthony's we had lunch at Pierre and Michelle's.
Bessans, where the Chapel of Saint Anthony stands, is rather interesting ... unlike anything I had ever seen before ... there was a peculiar luminosity that couldn't be easily forgotten as it shone over the stone roofed one and two storey-high houses.
On the way to the Chapel of Saint Anthony, which dates back to the early fifteenth century, we came across a huge cross we would later see in the Lanslevillard Church and whose detailed explanation in terms of symbols could be seen close by.
Saint Anthony Chapel's main façade is protected by a canopy that houses some frescoes depicting the dance of defects and although they are in a bad state of preservation one can still see the artistry with which they were painted due to some of the amazing details.
One cannot possibly imagine what lies behind those outside walls, if one has not read "Trésors de L'Art Sacreé dans les hautes valées de Mauriènne" by Michael Thomas, who has thoroughly explained the forty panels depicting the life of Christ intermingled with that of the village, thus reason enough to believe that the unknown artist who painted them must have been a local artist.
For obvious reasons photos could not be taken and although it has been mentioned that the extraordinarily impressive paintings bear some similarity in style to those of the Chapel of Saint Sebastian in Lansvillard, one would soon realise that these latest were finer artistically.
We had the possibility of visiting the small Museum of old housing, where the life of 18th century old peasants was well exemplified. People and animals were supposedely gathered in a room, commonly referred to as "Erablo", in which they were to face the long and harsh cold winters using the animals for their personal heating.
(To be continued)
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