Val Camonica or Valcamonica (), also Valle Camonica and anglicized as Camonica Valley, is one of the largest valleys of the central

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, in eastern

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It extends about from the

Tonale Pass Tonale Pass () (el. 1883 m./6178 ft.) is a high mountain pass in northern Italy across the Rhaetian Alps, between Lombardy and Trentino. It connects Valcamonica and Val di Sole. It is delimited by the Ortler Alps to the nort ...

to Corna Trentapassi, in the commune of Pisogne near

Lake Iseo Lake Iseo or Iseo lake ( ; ; ), also known as Sebino (; ), is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio River. It is in the north of the country in the Val Camonica area, near the cities of Brescia and Bergamo. The lake ...

. It has an area of about Area of the municipalities, excluding Val di Scalve and 118,323 inhabitants.Sum of ISTAT data of communes at 31 December 2007 The River

Oglio The Oglio (; or ; , ) is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd place per length (after the river Adda), while it is the 4th pe ...

runs through its full length, rising at

Ponte di Legno Ponte di Legno (Camunian dialect, Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 1,729 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Geography Situated at the confluence of the two source rivers (Frigidolfo and Narcanello) of the Ogli ...

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 The province of Brescia (; Brescian: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia.With an area of 4,785 km2, it is the ...

, except for

Lovere Lovere (Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, northern Italy, at the northwest end of Lake Iseo. The houses in the city have overhanging wooden roofs, typical of Switzerland, combined with the heavy sto ...

, Rogno, Costa Volpino and the Val di Scalve, which belong to the

province of Bergamo The province of Bergamo (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bergamo. The province has a population of 1,103,768 (2023), an area of , and contains 242 ''comune, comuni'' (municipali ...

. Since 1979, the rock drawings located along the valley are a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, while the entire valley became a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2018.

Etymology

''Val Camonica'' is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Vallis Camunnorum'', "Valley of the

Camunni The Camuni or Camunni were an ancient population located in Val Camonica during the Iron Age (1st millennium BC); the Latin name ''Camunni'' was attributed to them by the authors of the 1st century. They are also called ancient Camuni, to disting ...

Geography

Territory

Val Camonica can be divided into three main areas: # ''Lower Val Camonica'': a flat area of meadows and fields, starting from the shores of

and extending to the transverse ridge of Bienno, sometimes referred to as the Breno Threshold. # ''Middle Val Camonica'': extending from the Breno Threshold to the municipality of Sonico Edolo. The ''lower middle valley'' extends from Breno to Sellero, while the ''upper middle valley'' starts at the narrow gorge at

Cedegolo Cedegolo ( Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 1,258 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. Geography The village of Cedegolo is located in a narrow gorge formed by Oglio river, on its eastern side. I ...

and extends to Sonico Edolo. # ''High Val Camonica'': This part of the valley follows the Periadriatic Seam, and is oriented from east to west. Starting in the Val di Corteno, it continues as to the town of

at the top of the valley. Its climate is similar to that of central Valtellina. The valley is bounded by these borders:

Hydrography

Val Camonica is traversed by the River

, the fifth longest river in Italy, which rises at

from the confluence of the Frigidolfo and Narcanello rivers. It flows into

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.

History

Val Camonica likely became habitable only around 15,000 years ago, at the end of last ice age, with the melting of the

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

that first carved out the valley. It is likely that the first humans visited the valley in

epipaleolithic In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are someti ...

times, and appear to have settled by the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. When the

Ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

extended their dominions north of the

River Po The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a spring ...

, they encountered a people called the

, who were a Rhaetian tribe, 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 In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, which established the city of Cividate Camuno, with baths, an amphitheater and a large temple dedicated to

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, numerous clashes between the

Guelphs and Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...

took place in this region. The Guelphs supported the power of the Bishop of Brescia and the papacy, while the Ghibellines sided with the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. In 1287 the Val Camonica rebelled against control by

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and sided with the Visconti, lords of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, who extended their control over the area during the 14th century. From 1427 to 1454 there were numerous battles between the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

for the control of the valley. Ultimately the valley came under the control of Venice. During the following centuries, the civilian population grew and engaged in the iron trade. Val Camonica was separated from Venice after Venice was conquered by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1797. After the deposition of Napoleon, the area was controlled by the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. In 1859, Val Camonica was annexed to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. During World War I battle lines stretched along its eastern border, across the Adamello Group. The battles fought in this area are known as the White War in the Adamello. In 1955, the National Park of Naquane stone carvings at Capo di Ponte was created by the Archaeological Administration of

Monuments and places of interest

UNESCO Site

Val Camonica is home to the greatest complex of rock drawings in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, containing approximately 300,000 petroglyphs from the

era to the

. * Parco nazionale delle incisioni rupestri di Naquane in Capo di Ponte * Parco archeologico nazionale dei massi di Cemmo * Parco archeologico comunale di Seradina-Bedolina in Capo di Ponte * Parco archeologico di Asinino-Anvòia in Ossimo * Parco archeologico comunale di Luine in

Darfo Boario Terme Darfo Boario Terme (Camunian dialect, Camunian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. The name combines Darfo, the ''capoluogo'', with Boario Terme, the largest ''frazione''. It is bounded by the communes of ...

* Parco archeologico comunale di Sellero * Parco archeologico comunale di Sonico * Riserva naturale Incisioni rupestri di Ceto, Cimbergo e Paspardo in Nadro Camonica was the first site in Italy included in UNESCO’s

World Heritage list World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in 1979 because of its unique symbols and more than 140,000 figures carved along 8,000 years on rocks.

Medieval villages

* Bienno, recognised as one of the ''Most Beautiful Villages of Italy'' *

, also recognised as one of the ''Most Beautiful Villages of Italy'' * Pescarzo (Capo di Ponte), a characteristic small town.

Castles

* Castle of Breno, the largest castle in Val Camonica * Castle of Gorzone, home of the Federici family, standing on a small hill next to the Dezzo torrent * Castle of Cimbergo, in the valley of the Re, dominates the middle Valley * Castle of Lozio, the fortress where the Lozio Massacre occurred * Castle of Mù, the Federici bastion in the upper valley, of which only the foundations remain

Roman city

* Theatre and Amphitheater at Cividate Camuno * Temple of Minerva at Breno

Mountain excursions

* CAI paths in the Parco dell'Adamello * First World War (so-called "Guerra Bianca in Adamello") trench at

Vezza d'Oglio Vezza d'Oglio (Camunian dialect, Camunian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is located in the upper Val Camonica, Camonica Valley. Origins of the name Legend has it that a flood destroyed the ancien ...

Roman Baths

* Boario Terme * Angolo Terme

Museums and theme parks

* Parco tematico ''Archeopark'',

* Museo etnografico del ferro, delle arti e tradizioni popolari, Bienno * Museo Civico Camuno, Breno * Museo didattico di arte e vita preistorica, Capo di Ponte * Museo didattico della riserva, Nadro * Museo archeologico di Valle Camonica, Cividate Camuno * Mostra museo Camillo Golgi, Corteno Golgi * Museo etnografico, Ossimo * Museo parrocchiale d'arte sacra,

* Museo della Guerra Bianca in Adamello, Temù

Notable sanctuaries and churches

* Chiesa di Santa Maria della Neve in Pisogne * Chiesa di Sant'Antonio in Breno * Chiesa di Santa Maria Annunziata in Bienno * Santuario del Cristo Re in Bienno * Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta in Esine * Monastero di San Salvatore in Capo di Ponte * Oratorio dei Disciplini in

Montecchio Montecchio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 50 km south of Perugia and about 30 km northwest of Terni. Montecchio borders the following municipalities: Avigliano Umbro ...

* Pieve di San Siro in

Cemmo Cemmo, (Eastern Lombard dialect, camunian dialect: ''Hèm'') is a ''frazione'' of Capo di Ponte, located right of river Oglio, beneath the Concarena. It was one of the first settlements in Val Camonica, as it can be deduced from the numerous Rock D ...

* Santuario della Via Crucis in Cerveno (

Sacri Monti The (plural of , Italian for "Sacred Mountain") of Piedmont and Lombardy are a series of nine calvaries or groups of chapels and other architectural features created in northern Italy during the late sixteenth century and the seventeenth century ...

)

Winter sports

* Winter sports Centers at

, Borno, Montecampione,

Aprica Aprica () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy, northern Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, ...

and Val Palot

Photo gallery

Image:Monte_Concarena_-_tramonto_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg, Concarena Image:Panorama Valle Adamè - Saviore dell'Adamello (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, Valle Adamé Image:Monte Pizzo Badile - Val Camonica.jpg, Pizzo Badile Camuno Image:Valle Camonica da Breno.jpg, Valle Camonica from Breno to north Image:Valcamonica da braone.jpg, Valle Camonica from Braone to south Image:Panorama della Valle Camonica e Gruppo dell'Adamello da Gorzone - Darfo Boario Terme (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, Valle Camonica from Gorzone Image:Scena_di_duello_R6_-_Foppe_-_Nadro_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg,

Petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

from Foppe of Nadro Image:Figura che corre - R 35 - Parco di Naquane - Capo di Ponte.jpg, Running Priest in Capo di Ponte

Notes

References

External links

Itinera in Valcamonica (EN)

Italian World Heritage Sites

National museum and archaeological park with Roman theatre and amphitheatre

EuroPreArt, European Prehistoric Art database, 50 Valcamonica rock art records
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Italy Province of Bergamo Province of Brescia Valleys of the Alps Camonica World Heritage Sites in Italy Biosphere reserves of Italy