The Parish Treasury Museum of Étroubles

The parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Étroubles houses a small museum: the Parish Treasury. It displays the sacred objects and silverwork the community has kept over the centuries.

A 19th-century church with a 15th-century bell tower

The present church was rebuilt in 1815. It has, however, kept its spired bell tower, which dates from the 15th century. It is part of the tourist circuits of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley.

A treasury brought out of the sacristy

The parish objects used to be kept in the sacristy. To protect them and show them to residents and to the growing number of travellers on the Great St Bernard road, the municipality and the parish launched the project with the architect Sergio Togni. The Autonomous Region (Department of Education and Culture) and the CRT Foundation of Turin funded it. After three years of work, the Treasury opened on 22 July 2011.

Five showcases, from the 15th to the 19th century

The museum consists of five showcases, three of them beneath the right-hand matroneum, the gallery overlooking the nave. They hold chalices, crosses, a pyx, a reliquary, a monstrance and two wooden statues, made between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Pieces not to miss

Three chalices and a silver processional cross from the early 15th century. One of the chalices bears the mark of an anonymous silversmith who also made the chalice of the church of Courmayeur, in 1410.
A reliquary from the mid-15th century.
A pyx from the 17th century and a cross from the 18th.
Canon Nestor Adam’s chalice, given in 1927 by Marie, Marguerite and Albertine for his first Mass. The last parish priest born in Étroubles, Nestor Adam was Bishop of Sion from 1952 to 1977.

Address: parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, 11014 Étroubles (AO)

Contact: Étroubles town hall, Rue de la Tour 1 – +39 0165 789101 – info@comune.etroubles.ao.it

Opening hours and prices: free entry, every day from 9 am to 7 pm, according to the municipality’s 2011 press release. Check with the town hall before visiting.

Photos: Municipality of Étroubles.