The history of Monfol
In 1714 a farmer named Bartolomeo, who lived in a hamlet near Oulx, in the very first days of May, had a vision in which an angel of the Lord forced him to retire in prayer and live as a hermit in total silence and contemplation.
The holy man, fervent religious, the same day, greeted his wife, covered by a sheepskin and with “Babette”, a dwarf goat in tow, went up here and built a shelter of stone and wood. He spent most of his time praying to the Lord, feeding exclusively on his goat’s milk, berries, mushrooms and a few other things. Towards the end of the summer he was malnourished, dirty and melancholy, but, obstinate, he continued to pray and make his sacrifice.
The legend of “Mon Fol”.
The wife, not seeing him ever return home, twice a week took the habit of climbing the path that led to his hermit with a reserve of food supplies. To the people who saw her taking the path asking where she was going, she replied: < vo da mon fol> which in the local dialect means <I’m going to that fool>.
So, since 1714, this small village took the name of “Monfol” and the old people who pass the legend to their grandchildren tell that the “crazy hermit” lived for many years always covered by sheepskin, alone and with his goat in tow.
Later the refuge of wood and stones of the hermit was expanded and here is the current hut, and a few meters further downstream, where the man kneeling prayed, was erected a small church dedicated to San Bartolomeo.