Museum – Chapel of the Confraternity and Church of San Michele

Site overview

Rebuilt between 1689 and 1701 in Piedmontese Baroque style over the previous 14th-century construction, which was by then considered insufficient for a village of 2,000 inhabitants, the Parish Church was decorated in the second half of the 19th century by the painter Giovanni Battista Fino. He was the author of the presbytery frescoes depicting the Coena Domini and the Miracle of the Corpus Domini, as well as the high altar’s altarpiece representing the Virgin and Child between Saint Michael and Saint Lawrence.

The bell tower was reconstructed in 1808. On the southern side of the Church of San Michele lies the chapel of the former Confraternity of the Holy Name of Jesus, now dedicated to hosting temporary art exhibitions, primarily focusing on alpine culture. This space was inaugurated in the summer of 2018 as the third site of the Valle di Viù Open-Air Museum, following a careful architectural and technical restoration aimed at its new use, supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo and the Municipality of Lemie. In the rooms adjacent to the exhibition site, a local ethnographic exhibition has been set up, featuring a collection of taxidermy and objects from the farming tradition and daily life of the past.

The exhibition offers a glimpse into the culture and activities of the territory, with agricultural tools, domestic utensils, traditional clothing, and other artifacts that tell the story of the customs and work of local communities. The display intends to enhance the historical memory and the bond with the natural and rural environment of the area. The fresco cycle of the oratory of the Confraternity of the Holy Name of Jesus, created in 1546 by the will of the members of the Confraternity of the Virgin Mary, originally decorated a small church later incorporated into the current structure between 1892 and 1894. On the altar, the Blessed Virgin is depicted with two angels behind her; beside her are Saint Joseph and Saint John the Baptist (on the left), and Saint Michael and Saint Sebastian (on the right). Below, the confreres are shown in prayer, including members of the Goffi family, who commissioned the work.

The vault is decorated with scenes from the Life of Mary and Jesus: on the right, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, brought to life by realistic details such as shepherds, animals, and a servant holding back horses. The Magi are portrayed on horseback, rather than on traditional medieval camels. On the left wall is the Pietà, featuring Renaissance elements and 15th-century references in the details of the clothing and armor. Saint Michael is shown weighing souls and piercing the devil, while a martyr saint, dressed as a warrior, holds symbols of martyrdom and a processional lamp. In the Assumption of the Virgin, the crowding of figures visually compresses the Madonna, depriving her of upward momentum. During the restorations, a figure of Saint Bernard of Menthon emerged, depicted in the act of holding the devil in chains, symbolically placed at the entrance of the presbytery to protect the sacred space.