Beside the bell tower, I saw a church’s entry and entered to have a look. I felt attracted by the 82 wooden stalls choir, sculpted in Argentina’s wood in « Credo savoyard » style. There are only 13 in Europe. Imaginary creatures are sculpted on each chair.
Adjacent to the cathedral, the cloister offer a peaceful area. Temperatures below the vaulted ceiling were fresh, despite the hot weather. The inner garden was green and well maintained, with a small stone water funtain in the middle.
The Cathedral of St. Jean the Baptist was built from the sixth century. It was rebuilt in a Romanesque style in the XI after the invasions and then rebuilt in the fifteenth and finally completed in 1771 by adding a neoclassical porch to house the tombs of three first princes of the House of Savoy.
Seat of the diocese of Maurienne to its attachment to the diocese of Chambéry in 1966, the cathedral retains some elements carved with the original building.