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Origin and history

The Sanctuary of Notre-Dame des Vernettes is a religious building located at an altitude of 1,816 m above sea level in the municipality of Peisey-Nancroix, Savoie (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). Built in the early eighteenth century, it replaces a first oratory dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, patron saint of lepers, erected in 1702 and then destroyed. The current baroque and rococo-style sanctuary was built between 1722 and 1742 around a well-known "miraculous" source, following the healing of a Peisey resident. It includes a large chapel, a small chapel below accessible by a cross road, and houses a polychrome wooden statue of the Virgin of Pitié, classified as a historical monument in 1958.

The site has been a place of major devotion since the seventeenth century, hosting every July 16 a pilgrimage where the statue of the Virgin is carried in procession. The wall paintings, made by Luca Valentino in 1733, and Joseph-Marie Martel's major polychrome wooden altarpiece (1738-1742), illustrate Savoyard Baroque art. The sanctuary, listed as a historical monument in 1983, overlooks the Ponthurin valley and offers views of the Aiguille Grive and the Bellecôte massif. Its architecture and history reflect the importance of Marian cults in the mountains.

The statue of Notre-Dame-des-Vernettes, an object of veneration, embodies local piety and Alpine pilgrimage traditions. The lateral altars, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and Saint Nicholas (1750), complete the religious ensemble. The sanctuary, owned by the commune, remains a symbol of the spiritual and artistic heritage of the Tarentaise, linked to the diocese of Chambéry. Its listing in the inventory of Christian shrines in France highlights its heritage and cultural value.

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