Rock Drawings in Valcamonica
| Rock Drawings in Valcamonica | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
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| Location | Italy |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, vi |
| Reference | 94 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Coordinates | 46°01′26″N 10°21′00″E / 46.02389°N 10.35000°E |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1971 (3rd Session) |
The stone carvings of Val Camonica (Camonica Valley) are located in the Province of Brescia, Italy, and constitute the largest collections of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world. The collection was recognized by Unesco in 1979 and was Italy's first recognized World Heritage Site. Unesco has formally recognized more than 140,000 figures and symbols, but new discoveries have increased the number of catalogued incisions to between 200,000 and 300,000. The petroglyphs are spread on all surfaces of the valley, but concentrated in the areas of Darfo Boario Terme, Capo di Ponte, Nadro, Cimbergo and Paspardo.
Many of the incisions were made over a time period of eight thousand years preceding the Iron Age (1st millennium BC), while petroglyphs of the last period are attributed to the people of Camunni, mentioned by Latin sources. The petroglyph tradition does not end abruptly. Engravings have been identified (although in very small number; not comparable with the great prehistoric activity) from the Roman period, medieval period and are possibly even contemporary, up to the 19th century. Most of the cuts have been made using the "martellina" technique and lesser numbers obtained through graffiti.
The figures are sometimes simply superimposed without apparent order. Others instead appear to have a logical relationship between them; for example, a picture of a religious rite or a hunting scene or fight. This approach explains the scheme of images, each of which is an ideogram that is not the real object, but its "idea". Their function pertains to celebratory rituals: commemorative, initiatory and propitiatory; first in the field of religion, then later even secular, which were held on special occasions, either single or recurrent. Among the most-famous symbols found in Valcamonica is the so-called "Rosa camuna" (Camunian rose), which was adopted as the official symbol of the region of Lombardy.
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