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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-la-Vie chapel, located in the Belleville Valley on the delegated commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, was built between 1633 and 1680, during a period when the Pays de Savoie affirmed their Catholic identity in front of neighbouring Protestant regions. This sanctuary, classified as a historical monument since 1949, illustrates Savoyard Baroque art, marked by golden altarpieces, polychrome sculptures and Greek cross architecture with a central dome. It is part of the Cultural Route Les Chemins du Baroque, highlighting the Alpine religious heritage and its role in mountain communities.

Originally, the site housed a neolithic goddess linked to a sacred source, Christianized as Notre-Dame-de-la-Vie at the end of the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the chapel became a respite sanctuary, where stillborn children were urgently carried to baptize after a miraculous resurrection. A 1664 report attests to a case where a baby had opened his mouth, allowing his conditional baptism. Despite the reluctance of the clergy, this practice persisted until the 18th century, as evidenced by the murals illustrating miraculous healings.

The architecture of the chapel reflects its symbolic importance: three radiant polygonal chapels, a altarpiece of 1636 (the oldest in Tarentaise), and exuberant baroque decorations. The ecclesiastical authorities, anxious to control popular devotions, moved in 1960 the ancient pagan statue in a closed gallery. Today, the sanctuary remains a place of pilgrimage and is being restored, especially to consolidate its dome and arches.

The cult of Notre-Dame-de-la-Vie culminated in the 17th and 18th centuries, attracting thousands of faithful for its famous miraculous waters. Women came there on an annual pilgrimage, as described in 1930, to wash their faces and breasts with sheets soaked in the spring. This syncretism between pagan traditions and Christianity testifies to the persistence of popular beliefs in Savoy, despite the Church's attempts to frame them.

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