Chapelle ND des Sept-Douleurs à Pralognan-La-Vanoise : En accès libre

Le Barioz is one of the seven hamlets that make up Pralognan-la-Vanoise, the gateway to the Vanoise National Park, located at 1,400 m above sea level.
"Barioz" comes from the Latin "Barium" or barrier and, by extension, custom's border. In the past, when travelling through the Termignon "barrier," a transport toll was payable (see entry on Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation) to help maintain the "road," or rather the mule track which led, via the Col de la Vanoise mountain pass, from Maurienne to the Tarentaise Valley. Pralognan was also used to collect tolls, just like Termignon, and the chapel was one of the last meeting places before starting the journey.
The Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation also known as Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs or the Chapelle du Barioz, was built by the Blanc family, who came from the hamlet, probably on the site of a primitive oratory. In the mid 18th century, this family played an important role in Pralognan; they were landowners, who owned the land traversed by the start of the trail leading up to the Col de la Vanoise mountain pass, and derived a part of their income from trade and the transportation of goods. This cash contribution allowed them to gradually increase their land and buildings.
Antoine Blanc had 5 sons: Laurent, a Capuchin friar, Joseph, a priest, Antoine, a lawyer, Jacques, an inn keeper and François, a transporter. These five children fulfilled their father's wish by building the chapel in 1745: the date is engraved above the door, surmounted by rather a puzzling coats-of-arms.
The religious building is unusual in having cellars which are still owned by private individuals.
It is interesting to note that Saint Anthony, patron saint of mule drivers and guardian of mules, features among the patron saints. The front of the altar (the antependium) is made from embossed, polychrome leather, apparently from Cordoba, one of the many goods transported on mules via the Col de la Vanoise.
A mass is held in the chapel on the 15th September every year.