Salbertrand

Known as early as the 11th century, the village of Salbertrand developed around the ancient road to France: dwellings, fountains and even a very old hotel for wayfarers, the Hotel Dieu, tell us of a village devoted to welcoming wayfarers and pilgrims who travelled along the ancient road.

In the main square, the parish church of San Giovanni Battista, one of the most important sacred buildings in the upper Valley with a protiro and a stone doorway, houses frescoes dating back to the 14th and 16th centuries and a precious retable by Jean Faure of Thures.

The forested, spruce-rich side of Salbertrand Mountain is the heart of the Gran Bosco National Park.

Inside the park, the "Colombano Romean" Ecomuseum collects the community's memories of land and water through an itinerary that includes the Salbertrand community's water mill and the Oulme hamlet's wood-burning oven, a route that documents the complete cycle of making bread and the ancient traditions of this land.

Another witness to the cultural richness of this area is the Museo dei Tesori della Parrocchiale ("Parish Treasures Museum") in the sacristy of the Church of San Giovanni Battista, which, together with the Chapel of the Annunciation in Oulme, testifies to the piety and wisdom of a community closely linked to its traditions.

In addition to the aforementioned monumental stone fountains and the Hotel Dieu, which documents the importance of the village of Salbertrand along the historic route of the Route de France, the 19th-century icehouse, the charcoal pile, the lime kiln and the forestry yard are worth a visit.

Visiting Salbertrand is certainly a unique experience, especially during its traditional festivities: the patronal feast of San Giovanni in June and the Mardi Gras Carnival Procession.

The latter, characterised by ancient traditions and propitiatory rituals, such as the distribution of turtiòu, the reading of the carnival testament and the bonfire of the carnival puppet, consists of allegorical floats and a float equipped with a stove, on which turtiòu (pancakes made of water, flour and salt) are cooked and distributed in exchange for money, food or drink.

At the end of the Mardi Gras parade, the puppet, made every year by the young people of the village using sacks of jute, straw or hay, is placed in the centre of the square and, after the reading of the testament, in which all the noteworthy events that occurred during the year are recorded in the form of satire, it is burnt.