Our history from the late 1500s to today




Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta
Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta
Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta




To begin our story we must emphasize how interested I am in my family's past and how my mother, Osella Maria Grazia, has always been even more so. Thanks to her teachings, which she in turn received from her father, Osella Luigi, I have been able to collect today some very important testimonies of the past, not only of my family but of the life of the people of Valle d'Aosta in the past. The enthusiasm with which my grandfather Luigi and his brother GĂ©pin handed down the history and stories of their ancestors to my mother was so intense that they became clear and alive in her memory, as if she had lived them first.

This allowed my mother to talk to me continuously about these characters, their lives and their stories and gave me a great interest in my origins making me feel particularly close to them and to my Aosta Valley.

I thought it would be a good and right thing to leave a trace of these stories and of this family so representative of the Valley, so that those who, like me, do not want to lose their origins and love the history of yesteryear, can get some useful information.

The work of collection that my mother carried out was helped by the fact that many members of the family belonged to the clergy and as men of great culture they jealously preserved every writing that testified to their history.

Ciprien Gorret, archpriest and parish priest of La Thuile for over 50 years, and Luis Gorret, canon director of the seminary of Aosta, because of their distance from their family living in Valtournenche, periodically wrote to their sisters and aunts far away, recommending them to be good Christians and asking for news of their daily lives. Obviously all the texts were written in French and have been found, with their answers, perfectly preserved.

From these readings, my mother and I were able to learn a lot about their habits and outlook on life, entering a past world full of interesting anecdotes and precious suggestions about natural medicinal remedies, cultivation of the fields, and old recipes.


Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta



Among the many writings found, there is also a family tree reconstructed by his great-uncle, Don Louis Gorret, which allowed us to avoid a long search.The "Maison Le Cler" was named after the family who lived there for several generations and whose "sormegnon" was "Le Clèr". In reality, their real surname was "GORRET". In Valle d'Aosta there was the habit of giving these "nicknames" to the families, in order to easily distinguish them from each other, as the surnames (and also the names) were the same for different families. These "sormegnon" were assigned on the basis of different characteristics that could be physical, temperamental, or that referred to some particularity."Le Cler" could derive from the fact, that many of the members of the family group belonged to the clergy, or simply because they were almost all very light of eyes and hair.Many will wonder why "MAISON LES CLERS" was not written and the answer to this question is simply because we wanted to use the patois (ancient language of Valle d'Aosta still used in the region as a fluent language).
Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta



During the renovation of this house, many mementos of each of its inhabitants were found, from the very old books, to the handmade larch furniture, from the pipe collection of two smoking sisters, to the products used by the taxidermist and great hunter, to embalm hunting trophies.

Among the most important findings, numerous wills and letters, which have been of fundamental importance for the reconstruction of the family tree and that have allowed us to go back in time, up to 1700, in the history of the family. This house has been renovated several times in the succession of different generations and in this latest renovation we wanted to dedicate each environment to characters who have lived here and have left important traces of themselves.
Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta



This is one of the few houses in Valle d'Aosta to have been built around a wooden rascard, which remained locked inside the walls. You can see it on the top floor of the house, together with the family tree.

Today the house has become a guesthouse with 6 rooms to rent and with an apartment on the top floor, home of the owners. The renovation has scrupulously maintained the original details and has therefore preserved the old thick walls, the internal and external stone that has simply been recovered, and the small size of the windows with its original ironwork.



This is one of the few houses in Valle d'Aosta to have been built around a wooden rascard, which remained locked inside the walls. You can see it on the top floor of the house, together with the family tree.

Today the house has become a guesthouse with 6 rooms to rent and with an apartment on the top floor, home of the owners. The renovation has scrupulously maintained the original details and has therefore preserved the old thick walls, the internal and external stone that has simply been recovered, and the small size of the windows with its original ironwork.
Maison Le Cler - Valtournenche, Aosta



The recovery was not easy because of the desire to create a sustainable home, but the result has allowed the cohesion of the two elements. Where before there was exposed stone on the outside was chosen to thermally insulate with wood fiber coat on the inside, and vice versa where the stone was inside we have isolated with polystyrene thermal coat on the outside, recreating, however, above it, an old plaster as close as possible to the original.

The rascard inside the house has been patiently disassembled and cleaned manually, piece by piece, in order not to lose the original wood carvings. Today you can see the original structure perfectly identical to how it was originally created. Due to its particular size and the little natural light inside, it was decided to use it as a spacious bathroom / wellness.