Camonica

Val Camonica
Al Camònega
Val Camonica Location of Val Camonica within the Alps
Floor elevation	1,883 m (6,178 ft)
Area	1,335 square kilometres (515 sq mi)
Geography
Coordinates	46°00′27″N 10°20′51″E / 46.00750°N 10.34750°E / 46.00750; 10.34750Coordinates: 46°00′27″N 10°20′51″E / 46.00750°N 10.34750°E / 46.00750; 10.34750
Watercourses	River Oglio

Val Camonica (also Valcamonica or Camonica Valley, local dialect: Al Camònega) is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the commune of Pisogne near Lake Iseo. It has an area of about 1,335 km² (515 sq mi) and 118,323 inhabitants.

The River Oglio runs through its full length, rising at Ponte di Legno and flowing into Lake Iseo between Pisogne and Costa Volpino.

Almost all of the valley is included in the administrative territory of the province of Brescia, except for Lovere, Rogno, Costa Volpino and the Val di Scalve, which belong to the province of Bergamo.

Val Camonica is derived from the Latin Vallis Camunnorum, "Valley of the Camunni."

Val Camonica can be divided into three main areas:

The valley is bounded by these borders:

Val Camonica is traversed by the River Oglio, the fifth longest river in Italy, which rises at Ponte di Legno from the confluence of the Frigidolfo and Narcanello rivers. It flows into Lake Iseo between the municipalities of Pisogne and Costa Volpino.

Numerous streams, some of them seasonal, descend from the mountainsides and flow into the Oglio.

At high altitude there are many alpine lakes, including Lago Moro, as well as many artificial reservoirs, such as the Lago d'Arno.

Val Camonica likely became habitable only around 15,000 years ago, at the end of last Ice Age, with the melting of the glacier that first carved out the valley. It is likely that the first humans visited the valley in epipaleolithic times, and appear to have settled by the Neolithic period. When the Ancient Romans extended their dominions north of the River Po, they encountered a people called the Camunni, of unknown origin, populating the valley. About 300,000 petroglyphs survive from this period. By the end of the first century BC, the Valle Camonica was ruled by Ancient Rome, which established the city of Cividate Camuno, with baths, an amphitheater and a large temple dedicated to Minerva.