Courmayeur · Italy
Church of Saint Pantaléon
Observe the bell tower, then the church: they are not of the same age. The tower is Romanesque, of the eleventh or twelfth century, and it stood here when the present church did not yet exist. It is the oldest building in the village. Its top carries a cap shaped like a tiara, and local tradition holds that it recalls the popes at Avignon, the period in which Western Christendom had its seat not in Rome but on the far side of the Alps, a few days' walk from here. The origin of the shape is not documented, but the tradition states an accurate point: this valley looked north as much as south.
Go deeper
Why were the Popes in Avignon?
From 1309 to 1377 the papal seat moved to Avignon in Provence, for political reasons tied mainly to the French crown. Seven popes followed one another there before the return to Rome.
Who was Saint Pantaléon?
A physician who lived, by tradition, between the third and fourth centuries and was martyred under Diocletian. He is one of the most common healing saints in the Alps, where medicine arrived late and badly.
How do they know it's that old?
From the masonry and the openings. Herringbone stonework, narrow windows and squat proportions are typical of Alpine Romanesque, and they are dated by comparison with other towers in the valley.
Where it is
More stories in Courmayeur
- The Aiguille Blanche
- The Aiguille Noire
- Duke of the Abruzzi Alpine Museum
- The Brenva Spur
- The Guides' House
- The quiet col
- The Col de la Seigne
- Saussure on the Col du Géant