Chiesa della Madonna della Neve (Gries)

The church of the Madonna della Neve at Gries is first documented in 1570 and was consecrated in 1582. Superseded by the new parish church in 1949, it later served as a cinema and recreation hall before returning to religious use in 1978.

Why it matters

The Madonna della Neve was the church of Gries, one of the hamlets that make up Canazei. Its dedication reflects the Alpine devotion to Our Lady of the Snow that spread in the seventeenth century, and the Comun General de Fascia describes the exterior as early Baroque. The bells were requisitioned during the First World War. In 1949 the parish seat moved to the Sacred Heart church, and the old church became a village cinema before returning to religious use in 1978.

What to notice

The bell tower has an onion-shaped cap repainted red during works from 1878 to 1888; its clock was added in the late eighteenth century. The Sacred Heart church stands on the slope above the hamlet.

The bells and furnishings were transferred to the new parish church in 1949. The building was consolidated and repainted between 1976 and 1978, received roof work in 1985 and underwent a general restoration completed in 1996.

Context and history

A document from 1570 first mentions a chapel with this dedication at Gries; the building that replaced it was consecrated in 1582. The Comun General de Fascia describes the exterior as early Baroque and places the dedication within the seventeenth-century flowering of the Madonna della Neve cult.

In 1818 Gries passed with the rest of the Val di Fassa from the diocese of Bressanone to Trento. A fire in 1861 led to repairs that lasted until 1868, with a further campaign in 1878–1888. During the First World War the Austro-Hungarian authorities requisitioned the bells; six new bells were hung in 1928. Meanwhile a new parish church, the Sacred Heart, was under construction on the slope above from 1935, and in 1949, once it was in use, the bells and furnishings of the Madonna della Neve were transferred there. The old church became a cinema and recreation centre for the village. Between 1976 and 1978 it was consolidated, repainted and re-equipped, and returned to religious use. In 2009, the Sacred Heart's bells, which had come from Gries, were replaced.