The church occupies roughly the same site as the earlier chapel of Saint Laurent and the chevet of the church choir was built from this chapel.
It was originally known as the church and parish of Saint Amédée de La Côte. In fact, the first patron saint of La Côte was never canonised, but was the "blessed Amédée IX", who was Duke of Savoy from 1465 to 1472 and married Yolande, the sister of the French king Louis XI. He was probably chosen as the patron saint because his name, Amédée, was the second name of the reigning Duke, Victor-Amédée, who facilitated the disunion with Aime.
Moreover, Blessed Amédée IX was the son of Duke Louis, who in 1442 "albergé" (gave) the inhabitants of La Côte the territory that still has almost the same boundaries to this day. "Albergé" means that the inhabitants of La Côte became the owners of the land stretching from the Isère river to the "Grande Parey".
To honour Blessed Amédée IX, the parishioners had a painting of him done at the top of the high altar: he is holding a scroll with "Practice discernment and justice, and cherish the poor" written on it.
Under the porch is a mural depicting the four Evangelists with their attributes.
The church has three naves, three bays, a gallery and a choir. The rood beam is highly decorated and supported on either side by cherubs. On the beam, Christ on the Cross is surrounded by Mary and Saint John.
The main altarpiece was reworked in the 19th century using elements from the old altarpiece sculpted in 1658 by François Cuénot for the chapel of Saint Laurent.
The central painting shows Saint Laurent on the left with his gridiron, Saint Peter holding the keys and the Virgin in Assumption above them. On the left is Saint Peter, on the right Saint Paul, above Amédée IX, on the left Saint Agathe, patron saint of Pierrolaz, whose feast day is 5 February, and on the right Saint Roch.
The tabernacle dates from the 19th century.
The door depicts the Good Shepherd.
The Rosary altarpiece depicts the Virgin Mary giving the rosary to Saint Dominic and Catherine of Siena, with the Virgin Mary crowned by the Trinity above.
The altarpiece dedicated to Saint Joseph features a painting of Saint Joseph and Saint Anthony. Above, Christ, God the Father and the dove of the Holy Spirit represent the Trinity. The pulpit has sculptures of the four Evangelists and the Good Shepherd is depicted on the back panel.
The church has not undergone any major alterations since it was built, apart from the bell tower which, in 1728, in addition to the large cross at the top with the "cockerel" on it, had four smaller crosses at each corner, surmounted by bell towers.
Ouverture
From 01/07 to 31/08, daily.
9am to 6pm
Out of the season only during religious services.
Tarifs
Free access.
Contact et accès
Route départementale
Pierrolaz - Chef lieu
La Côte d'Aime
73210 La Plagne Tarentaise
Savoie (73)
