Frazione Chaffaux, 10052 Bardonecchia
The Chaffaux Chapel, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, dates back to the first half of the 15th century. The holy water font is dated May 10, 1446, while the exterior frescoes bear the dates 1537 and 1540; the wooden lectern, dated 1575, is inscribed to St. Catherine.
Inside, after the restoration campaign in the summer of 2012, precious 16th-century frescoes depicting the stories of the life and martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria were uncovered, previously hidden by various layers of whitewash. In some panels of the apse wall, Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Francis with his robe and stigmata are also depicted. At the base of the altar, a fresco represents Saint Veronica: the central subject is Saint Veronica, dressed in a red cloak covering her head, holding up the cloth imprinted with Jesus's face. The composition is set against an ochre background framed by a blue border that echoes the colors of the chapel's apse wall. The painter, stylistically very skilled, is identified, due to stylistic affinities, with the master who created the frescoes in the Church of Saint Sebastian in Plampinet and those recently rediscovered in the Chapel of the Annunciation of Oulme in Salbertrand. The church can be visited independently with the automated "Chiese a Porte aperte" system.
