La Balme return

Located at 1040 meters, la Thuile is a small traditional village with its tight streets and houses constructed in the slope, when you can find the Notre Dame de la Visitation de la Sainte Vierge chapel, a traditional oven and a water container. The village’s festival is celebrated on the first weekend of July.

Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation Chapel is situated in la Thuile hamlet in Montagny village (Savoy). It was already built before the pastoral visit in 1633 under the name of Notre-Dame-des-Grâces.You can observe the Baroque art in its altarpiece: colorful, gilded, with chubby cherubs and unfinished cornice. The painting features Saint Etienne, Saint Marguerite of Antioche, Saint Roch and Saint Sébastien looking piously at the Visitation scene. You can see a little wooden statue of the Virgin and Child covered in gold leaf. The bell tower with its 40cm hole diameter bell is on the top of the southern front. It has the effigies of the Virgin crossing her arms on her chest and Christ on the cross . It was melted in 1895 as the one from Villard Chapel by Georges and Francisque Paccard, famous smelters in Annecy-le-Vieux. The present Way of the Cross was built by the priest, Charles Maurice Emprin with all the villagers gathered for the ceremony. After the blessing some paintings and crosses were carried in procession all around the village !

There’s a lot of high mountain pasture village on the sunny side of Montagny : Moranche, Pracepaix, la Balme, la Challe, Champruel, le Mont, les Granges, Pargenty, le Champey.