History

A people that never bowed

The Waldensians (Vaudois) are one of the oldest still-existing Protestant-like movements in Christianity. Beginning in Lyon in the late 12th century around Peter Waldo, persecution pushed them into the harsh valleys of the Piedmontese Alps — the Val Pellice, Val Germanasca, lower Val Chisone and the Angrogna valley — where, for centuries, they preserved their faith in isolation. They joined the Reformation in 1532, endured massacre and exile in the 17th century, and finally won full civil rights in 1848.