Plout Sanctuary

The result of a moment of devotion which became a place of pilgrimage

When is it open: everyday (visits only on the patron saint's feast day)

What's not to be missed: the dome at the centre of the cross-shaped structure

Where is it: Plout district

Why?… Because it's worth it: a picturesque walk towards a place of pilgrimage

The statue of Madonna of Plout, near Saint Marcel, has been worshipped since the fourteenth century. Tradition tells us that there was a huge rock between the villages of Denchasaz and Plout, with a cave inside that hosted a small statue of the Virgin Mary. The inhabitants of the village and anyone travelling in the area would ask the Virgin Mary for her protection and help. It is said that in 1640 a local builder fell from a roof he was working on and decided to erect a oratory in honour of the Virgin Mary,

should he ever get better. When he got better he kept his promise; from that moment onwards devotion to the Virgin Mary grew, bringing followers to Plout from afar. In 1850, after a visit to Plout, Monsignor Jourdain, the Bishop of Aosta, decided the church wasn't big enough to host the crowds of pilgrims from all around the diocese and ordered the construction of a new sanctuary, which would be more spacious and welcoming, in the form of a Greek cross with a beautiful dome in the middle.