Processions

The Val d|"Aosta area is the site of countless religious testimonies, monuments of great artistic value. The many Sanctuaries, Churches and Hermitages scattered in the villages and in the woodland areasÂ continue to attract numerous pilgrimages and processions.

Of the mountain sanctuary processions, special note should be taken of the sanctuary in the Biella region, extending from Fontainemore to the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Oropa, the first reference of which date back to the XVI century: a procession lasting a good 12 hours that commences in the middle of the night and is celebrated once every five years. Although less demanding, processions to the other Valle d|"Aosta sanctuaries are also atmospheric. Among these are the procession held on 5 August,

the festival of the "Madonna della neve"(Madonna of the Snow"), celebrated in the sanctuaries of Miserin (valle di Champorcher), of CunÃ©y (Saint-BarthÃ©lÃ©my), of Verdona (Valpelline), of San Grato (Valgrisenche) and of Fonteinte (Saint-RhÃ©my-en-Bosses); the uphill procession from Gignod to Excenex on 16 August, which originally took place to invoke San Rocco|"s protection against the plague, terminates on a peak (the cross of Punta Chaligne).