The Trail of Faith: Valdese, N.C.

In a small town in North Carolina, John Bleynat is building a cave. Using reinforced wire and sprayed concrete, Bleynat is recreating the environs and history of his Italian ancestors in the unlikely spot of Valdese, N.C.

Many of the residents of this town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains are descendants of the founders, all members of the Waldensian faith from the Cottian Alps. It may be the oldest evangelical group. Records about them date back to 1100. Unfortunately, many of those records deal with their persecution - executions, exile, and armed resistance against the forces of the Italian king.

Their religious and civil rights weren't fully recognized until 1848. Ironically, the same document that insured their freedom led to their emigration to the U.S. The long, narrow valley where most of their villages lie weren't fertile enough to support the growing population. A scouting expedition traveled to America, looking for a new home. In 1893, the first group of 29 men, women and children arrived and began building an Italian village on 10,000 acres in the North Carolina Mountains.

Visitors to Valdese can experience the challenges and history of the Waldensians at the Trail of Faith, a self-guided, open-air exhibit and museum. The trail leads visitors through replicas of the secret seminary, first church, a typical farmhouse, and other important features of the history - including John Bleynat's cave. The caves were used for clandestine worship services.

These are not casual reconstructions. The crews in Valdese worked from enlarged photos and sketches and supervised a team of stonemasons to create exact copies of each structure. In the case of the cave, it is authentic to the point of even having the crawl-through entrance. However, for those not willing or able to appreciate that much authenticity, a more normal entrance is available.

Early life in Valdese is well-documented. At the Waldensian Museum, adjacent to the church in town, the life of the immigrants is displayed in a series of life-sized dioramas. Each item in each display is described in English and in the dialect of the Waldensians, a mixture of French and Italian.

In addition to the Trail of Faith, visitors can attend "From This Day Forward," an open-air drama telling the story of the Waldensians. It runs on weekends during the summer. Each August, the Waldensian Festival celebrates the return from exile to Switzerland in 1689. There are worship services, a bocce competition, and a huge street fair. Women from the community dress in traditional costumes - long dark dresses, bonnets, and gaily-colored embroidered shawls.

To see the traditional dress when there is no festival, visit the town library. Two large stained-glass panels in the entrance depict traditional scenes of Italy and the Waldensian emblem - a lighted candle atop an open Bible and the motto: "Light Shineth in the Darkness."

For information about Valdese and the Trail of Faith, call (704) 874-2531
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