| Rock engravings of Val Camonica | |
.jpg/250px-Scena_di_duello_R6_-_Foppe_-_Nadro_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg) | |
| State | Italy |
|---|---|
| Region | Lombardy |
| Territory | Val Camonica |
| Institutional website | |
The Rock engravings of Val Camonica are an archaeological site of the Lombardy, in the province of Brescia.
To know
The rock engravings of the Val Camonica (UNESCO site nº 94, Rock art of Valcamonica) constitute one of the largest collections of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world and were the first recognized World Heritage SiteUNESCO in Italy (1979). UNESCO has recognized over 140,000 figures, but new uninterrupted discoveries have progressively increased the total number of cataloged engravings, up to two hundred thousand if not three hundred thousand. Rock art in Valle Camonica is reported on about 2,000 rocks in over 180 locations including 24 municipalities, with a particular concentration in the municipalities of Capo di Ponte, Ceto (Nadro), Cimbergo, Paspardo, Sonico, Sellero, Darfo Boario Terme, Ossimo where there are 8 parks equipped for visiting. The engravings were made over a period of eight thousand years, up to the Iron Age (1st millennium BC); those of the last period are attributed to the Camuni people mentioned in Latin sources. The petroglyphic tradition did not end suddenly: engravings - albeit in a very small number, not comparable with the grandiose prehistoric activity - have been identified from Roman, medieval and even contemporary times, up to the nineteenth century. Most of the engravings were made with the hammer technique; fewer those obtained through graffiti. The figures are sometimes simply superimposed without apparent order, but often instead appear in a logical relationship between them, as an illustration of a religious rite or a hunting or fighting scene; this approach explains the schematism of the images, each of which is an ideogram that represents not so much the real object, but its "idea". Their function can be traced back to celebratory, commemorative, initiatory or propitiatory rites - first in the religious sphere, later also secular -, which were held on particular, single or recurring occasions. Among the best known signs found in Val Camonica stands out the so-called Rosa camuna, which was adopted as the official symbol of the region Lombardy. In the local dialect of Valle Camonica the rock engravings are indicated with the reductive term of "pitoti", or puppets.
How to get
Rock engravings of Val Camonica: full screen map.By plane
- 1 Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport (the Caravaggio), Via Aeroporto 13, Orio al Serio, ☎ 39 035 326323.
By car
State Road 42 del Tonal and Mendola.
On the train
Line Brescia-Iseo-Edolo, managed by FERROVIENORD. For information, rates and timetables consult the Trenord website.
By bus
Valle Camonica can be reached from Milan, Bergamo (including the airport Orio al Serio) or from Brescia via daily connections.
- BLUE: Arriva Line - Bus
- YELLOW: Sabba line - Bus
- GREEN: FNMA Line - Bus
- VIOLET: Gelmi Line - Bus
- RED: Bonomi Line - Bus
- ORANGE: Visinoni Line - Bus
Permits / Rates
How to get around
What see
.jpg/220px-Rosa_camuna_R24_-_Foppe_-_Nadro_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg)
The rock engravings are collected in eight theme parks:
1 Supracommunal Interest Park of Lake Moro, Luine and Monticolo, Darfo Boario Terme.- 2 Archaeological Park of Asinino-Anvòia, Ossimo.
- 3 Natural reserve Rock engravings of Ceto, Cimbergo and Paspardo, Class, Cimbergo, Paspardo.
- 4 Naquane Rock Carvings National Park, Capo di Ponte.
- 5 National Archaeological Park of the Massi di Cemmo, Capo di Ponte, Cemmo.
- 6 Municipal Archaeological Park of Seradina-Bedolina, Capo di Ponte.
- 7 Sellero Municipal Archaeological-Mining Park, Sellero.
- 8 Multi-thematic path of the "Coren delle Fate", Sonic.
What to do
Shopping
Where to eat
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Rock engravings of Val Camonica
Commons contains images or other files on Rock engravings of Val Camonica
