Page 10 - Guida di Cesana T.se
P. 10

the use of the church in the past. Throughout several war years, it was transformed into a fort. In  Introduction
       Sauze di Cesana (1,560m), is situated at the bottom of Mt Sises on the road from the Colle del
    Sestriere, at the end of the Valley going towards Cesana. Besides offering a receptive structure as
    the modern ‘Grangesises’ residential complex, is situated in a strategical position compared to most
    tourist destinations, as for example the ‘Via Lattea’ complex and the Argentera valley: a point of
    departure for fantastic excursions.
    Sauze di Cesana has very old origins: in the Roman Age the little villagecould be found on the ‘via
    francigena’ that linked the Roman world to the Gallic. Its name appears for the first time in the
    Middle Ages as ‘Salise Cesanae’ and ‘Saude’ and then, in 1516, it appears with ‘Sallicia Sezanio’;
    Sauze like the willow tree, but also like ‘over’ or ‘balcony’.
    Church of St. Restituto. Its style is the result of a ‘transformation’, as the church, already mentioned
    in the bishop Cuniberto’s diploma (1065), is older. Today, there is a hall with monolite pillars,
    original and incomparable in all the Valle di Susa. Some of the stylistic differences are explained in
    1500 it was used alternately by the Waldenses and the Catholics.
    Linked to the St. Restituto there are several secondary chapels for example St. James in Sauze di
    Cesana, ‘Madonna dello Scapolare’ in Grangesises, St. Anna in Bessen Haut and St. Mary (today
    dilapidated) in Bessen Bass. To be mentioned are also St. Peter’s and Paul’s parish, in the ex com-
    mune of Rollieres built in 1816 and consacrated in 1818.
    Among the historical buildings there are also the old ovens. If the oven represented an important
    place for the community, the fountain represented a ‘focal point for the daily life and maybe more
    than the church’. In Sauze di Cesana there are 4 big fountains, each one with its poligonal basin and
    a round hat then a fifth one where a carved smooth trunk substitutes the simple iron pipes. Other
    fountains are those in Serre, in Bessen Haut and in Rollieres, as they have imposing stone-basins.
    The Carnival is probably the most important event in the agrarian-year. It’s about a rite in which the
    guilty of the community are sacrificed by the Carnival allowing the spirit of nature of some other
    gifts. You can find Sauze di Cesana along a path, or better still a road: the ‘Royal Street of France’,
    planned by Napoleone’s engineers followingthe oldest ‘vineyard road’. By Gran Sauze we refer to
    the wide territory that from Sauze di Cesana extends to the hamlets Rollieres, Bessen Haut, Bessen
    Bass, Serre and Grangesises still including the Argetera valley.
    This is situated in the south-west of the village and crossed by the Ripa stream, which gives rise
    to Dora Riparia and is among the imponent ‘3,000, as the Mt Rognosa, the Mt Platasse, the Mt
    Ramiere and the Mt Gran Queyron. It is a famous destination for tourists, with its waterfalls and its
    green pastures that in summer offer beautyful scenes, in winter these will become ideal places for
    cross-country skiing, alpinism and for snowshoeing, practised in the bottom of the valley, through the
    Ripa stream and on the slope of the majestic Mt Cimabosco, between the main town and Rollieres.
    qu’a eu l’église dans le passé et lors, d’évènements belliqueux. Elle fut transformée en forteresse, au  Introduction
       Sauze di Cesana (1.560m) est située au pied du M. Sises. Pour y arriver il suffit d’emprunter
    la route qui descend le Col du Sestrière et qui continue vers Cesana T.se. Le village propose une
    structure réceptive probablement unique en son genre en Italie: le complexe moderne et résidentiel
    de Grangesises qui occupe une des position le plus stratégique dans l’Alta Valle Susa étant proche
    de les zones de ski de la Via Lattea et de la Valle Argentera, point de départ pour effectuer de
    splendides excursions.
    Sauze di Cesana a des origines très anciennes: à l’époque romaine, le petit village se trouvait le
    long de la via francigena qui reliait le monde romain au monde gaulois. Son nom apparait pour la
    première fois sur des documents datant du moyen-âge comme ‘Salise Cesanae’ e ‘Saude’ e plus
    tard, en 1516, apparaitra le nom ‘Sallicia Sezanio’; Sauze comme l’arbre, le saule, mais significant
    aussi comme en haut ou balcon.
    L’église de S. Restituto. Certaines dissonances de style peuvent s’expliquer, si l’on examine l’emploi

    cours du XVI ème sièc.  elle servit aux vaudois et aux catholiques. De nombreuses chapelles secondaires,
    comme celle de S. Giacomo à Sauze di Cesana, celle de la Madonna dello Scapolare à Grangesises,
    celle de S. Anna à Bessen Haut et de S. Maria Rita (aujourd’hui en ruine), à Bessen Bass, sont
    reliées à l’église de S. Restituto.
    A citer également, la paroisse des SS. Pietro e Paolo dans l’ex commune de Rollieres, qui fut édifiée
    en 1816 et consacrée en 1818. L’édifice actuel s’ érige sur le lieu d’une vieille chapelle dédiée aux
    SS. Pietro et Paolo. L’église précédente fut détruite par les vaudois.
    Parmi les édifices historiques dignes d’être mentionnés notons les anciens fours de Sauze et Rollieres
    ramenés à leur splendeur d’antan. Ceux de Bessen Bass et Serre sont en projet de restructuration. Si
    le four représentait une importante ressource pour le village, il était souvent à l’origine de la fusion
   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15