Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne stands in the Arc valley on a route through the Alps towards Italy. Its cathedral preserves relics venerated as those of Saint John the Baptist, whose cult and the foundation of the bishopric are recorded from the sixth century. Rebuilt in the eleventh century and enlarged in the fifteenth, the church contains carved walnut choir stalls, a cloister and a crypt. The shrine gave the mountain town a religious importance beyond its valley.