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Origin and history

The cemetery cross of the Correrie is a medieval vestige located 500 metres below the old cartreuse d'Aillon, in the commune of Aillon-le-Jeune (Savoie). This funeral monument, probably erected in the 13th century, stands in the enclosure of a cemetery attached to the correrie, the "low house" of the Chartreux. This agricultural estate, also known as supply, housed a chapel, agricultural buildings and a welcoming place for pilgrims or visitors before they climbed to the monastery.

The cross, carved from a single block of stone, has a cylindrical shape with a summital swell adorned with an empty rectangular niche. No entry is given. It has been listed in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments since 1944, demonstrating its heritage importance. The correrie, with its chapel dedicated to Saint Michael and its cemetery, was a place of life and work for the conversing brothers and the farmers exploiting the land of the Chartreux.

At the French Revolution (1792), the cartreuse's property was confiscated and sold. The Correrie estate, including the cross, cemetery and chapel, is shared among seven local families. The chapel, rebuilt in the 17th century in a baroque style, preserves medieval elements like a vaulted nave in broken hanger. The bulb bell tower, restored in 1960, overlooks the building.

Today, the cemetery cross remains the only medieval burial vestige visible on the site. The chapel and adjacent agricultural buildings belong to the municipality of Aillon-le-Jeune. Although the Chartreuse has almost completely disappeared, the Correrie offers an overview of the economic and spiritual organization of the Chartreux in Savoie, between agriculture, reception of pilgrims and management of the deceased.

The site is part of a landscape marked by the monastic history of the Bauges, where the Chartreuse d'Aillon, founded in the 12th century by Count Humbert III of Savoie, played a major role until its destruction during the Revolution. The cross, by its simplicity and age, symbolizes the permanence of religious memory in this isolated valley of the Alps.

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