The third of six children, Anna was born and brought up in St-Luc. As a child, she would walk through the old village to get to nursery school and, a few years later, to catch the bus to Vissoie. Her daily life was shaped by family life and village traditions. Anna studied art history and Italian in Lausanne and spent a year divided between Florence and Verona. After graduating, she began working as a guide at the Romont Stained Glass Museum. From Italian artworks to stained-glass windows, she learnt to narrate, explain and share her knowledge, before returning to the mountains she loves to join Anniviers Tourisme. It is a job that now allows her to help others discover the heritage of her own valley.
Every year in January, Anna joins her family at the bread room and communal oven in St-Luc to make rye bread. It’s a tradition she’s been part of since she was a little girl, with a unique local twist: here, they add potatoes to the dough. It’s an opportunity to get together as a family and carry on the traditions they’ve learnt together. In the past, rye – well-suited to mountain conditions – played an important role in the Valais diet. The village communal oven was only lit a few times a year: families would bake their bread there, which would keep for several months. Today, the activities on offer in St-Luc and Grimentz allow visitors to discover this traditional craft by shaping their own loaves before baking them in the communal oven. In this way, Anna passes on a tradition that she has been part of since childhood.
Over the years, other family traditions have endured. On Corpus Christi, Anna proudly wears the Anniviard costume, just as her grandmother Auroire used to, thus carrying on this village custom in her own way. She also introduces visitors to her village during guided tours. St-Luc holds few secrets for her, and her memories allow her to add a personal touch to her explanations. She describes the places through the eyes of someone who grew up there. Her work also takes her to other parts of the valley. In summer, she guides visitors inside the Moiry dam and accompanies groups through the tunnels of the Lée copper mine, above Zinal. In winter, she introduces visitors to Curl’Charlette, a game inspired by curling, where the stones are replaced by cowherd’s stools.
Anna is one of those locals who bring the Val d’Anniviers to life. Behind every village tour or batch of bread, there are people who passionately share the skills passed down through the generations, as well as their memories and their love for the valley.
