Chamois (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy.
Chamois is the only municipality in Italy not reachable by motorized vehicles.bbc.com: Video (9 min, February 2022))
Visitors can access Chamois by cable car or via a walking path originating at La Magdeleine.
Chamois became a separate parish only in 1681, when it was separated from Antey-Saint-André. The village church, dedicated to Saint Pantaleon, was built in the same year.Pietro Giglio, Oriana Pecchio, 2005: Enciclopedia della Valle d'Aosta, p. 183 (Google books- snippet view) The present form of the structure dates from a rebuilding in 1838.Website of the Municipality of Chamois: Saint Pantaleon parish church
Parish church The Saint Pantaleon parish church (; ) is the local Roman Catholic church. The territory of Chamois belonged to the parish of Antey-Saint-André until the 17th century. The founding of a separate parish was initiated by the curate of Antey, Martin Jeanthon, a native of Chamois: at his request, the parish church was consecrated on July 21, 1681, by the Bishop of Aosta, Antoine-Philibert Bailly, replacing a rectory that had existed since 1621. The church was later expanded and transformed, taking on its current form in 1838. In 1844, the present-day rectory was built next to the church. It served as the priest's residence but also functioned as a school and a first aid station.
The church has a single-nave structure, with a quadrangular apse and a bell tower equipped with four bells. The interior houses an 18th-century high altar originating from the parish of Torgnon, made of carved wood, painted and partly gilded. It features a painting of the Immaculate Conception set between two twisted half-columns that support two angels, as well as painted wooden statues of Saint Pantaleon, a Holy Pope, and a Holy Bishop.
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Alpine Pearls