Rock Engraving Park-Grosio
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The Rock Engraving Park ( it, Parco Incisioni Rupestri) is an Archaeological Park situated in
Grosio Grosio (; Lombard: ''Gros'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland. The municipality of Gros ...
and
Grosotto Grosotto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland. Grosotto borders the following municipalities: ...
, two villages in the valley
Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
in
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, northern
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The park was founded in 1978 to conserve, study and develop the Cultural Heritage on the Dosso dei Castelli (Castle Hill).


Introduction

The Castle Hill displays a combination of the historical, archaeological, architectural and even landscape patrimony of various ages of the
Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
. The hill is dominated by two castles. The Castello Vecchio (Old Castle) from the 10th-11th century and the Castello Nuovo (New Castle) which got constructed in the 14th century. Of high standard is even the traditional system of dry-stone terraces surrounding the hill. Special and unique is the Rupe Magna, a large rock which contains more than 5,000 engraved figures from the 4th to the 1st millennium BC.


Rupe Magna

Rock engravings (
Petroglyphs 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 ...
) are documented in several different locations in the
Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
, but the most important ones can be found in the Rock Engraving Park of
Grosio Grosio (; Lombard: ''Gros'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland. The municipality of Gros ...
on the surface of the Rupe Magna. In the year 1966 the Italian Archaeologist Davide Pace found traces of rock engravings. During the following years he made an initial record of the
petroglyphs 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 ...
of the Rupe Magna as well as those found on the nearby Dosso Giroldo. The Rupe Magna then became the object of a research project between 1991 and 1995. During these scientific studies, more than 5,000 petroglyphs were located and documented. The Rupe Magna, with a length of 84 m and a width of 35 , is one of the biggest engraved rocks in the Alpine range. The Rupe Magna owes its shape to the action of the Valtellina glacier. The slow, continual movement of the tongues of ice which occupied the valleys of the Adda and the Roasco molded the surface into its characteristic form. The Rupe Magna is made of dark grey
phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...
with
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
lenses. Numerous themes like human figures, including “ orants”, armed men and wrestlers, animals, geometrical shapes, cup-marks, rakes and crosses are represented on the surface of the Rupe Magna. On the basis of comparison with objects from archaeological excavations and stylistic considerations they may be dated from the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
Period (4th millennium BC) to the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(1st millennium BC). Archaeological excavations in 1995 could proof the existence of prehistoric settlements on the Dosso dei Castelli beginning from the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
(16th – 14th century BC) up to the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, precisely to the 1st century BC.


Castello Vecchio

The so called Castello Vecchio (Old Castle) was mentioned the first time in a written document in the year of 1150 as „Castrum Groxi“, but archaeological results indicate a construction date already at about the end of the 10th century. The preserved walls of the Castello Vecchio show the historic size of the whole structure. The nowadays dominating church spire from Romanesque Period was partly restructured at the end of the 19th century. The first construction-phase of the corresponding small church is dated by archaeological results into the 7th or 8th century. Most probably built to cover the two medieval tombs which are cut directly into the rock. The relatively limited size as well as the low fortification level indicate, that the castle was more a symbol of power of the feudatory than a fortress. The feudatories of this area of the Valtellina were at this age the bishops of
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
. From about the 12th century onwards their vassals in the region of Grosio were the lords von Matsch, a family that has its origins in the
Vinschgau The Vinschgau, Vintschgau () or Vinschgau Valley ( it, Val Venosta ; rm, Vnuost ; lld, Val Venuesta; medieval toponym: ''Finsgowe'') is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of South Tyrol, Italy. ...
(it. Val Venosta). That's why the family in the Valtellina later on was called Venosta. According to documentary evidence the castle was inhabited until the last decades of the 16th century.


Castello Nuovo

The New Castle, or Castello Nuovo, was constructed between 1350 and 1375 on the initiative of the
House of Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...
. The Visconti family, already lords of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, in 1335 acquired also Valtellina after defeating the commune of Como. The Castello Nuovo was designed as a
stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, adapted to the strategic needs of the 14th century. It was surrounded by a double defensive wall, had a solid keep and a fortified internal tower (
Bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...
) as an ultimate defense structure. The southern part of the castle is built directly on the steep of the Castle Hill, while the north end, in contrast, had a moat. The fortress was never involved into fighting action. As early as in 1526 the Castello Nuovo was partially demolished by the new lords of the Valtellina to avoid possibilities of any kind of insurrection. Some years before in 1512 the three counties
Chiavenna Chiavenna ( lmo, Ciavèna ; la, Clavenna; rm, Clavenna or ''Claven''; archaic german: Cläven or ''Kleven'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine ...
,
Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
and
Bormio Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellina ...
became part of the
Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons) ...
(the Grisons) with the status of a subordinated land.


Cultural Landscape Heritage

The slopes of the Dosso dei Castelli represent an example of the local tradition in
Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
to build systems of dry-stonewall terraces for growing wine. The terraces of the Castle Hill of Grosio were most likely built after 1200. Since 2013 the Fondazione Fojanini takes care about this major cultural landscape heritage. The terraces were cleaned of the wild vegetation with the aim to grow again wine on them. Grapes grown include Muscaris, Johanniter, Aromera, Bronner and Sauvigner Gris.


Sources

*D. Pace,'' Petroglifi di Grosio'' (1972) *D. Pace, ''Sviluppo dell’investigazione archeologica nel sistema petroglifico di Grosio ''(1974) *D. Pace, ''Petroglifi dei colli di Grosio ''(1977) *A. Arcà, A. Fossati, E. Marchi, E. Tognoni, "Rupe Magna. La roccia incisa più grande delle Alpi", in: ''Quaderni del Parco delle incisioni rupestri di Grosio'' 1 (1995) *R. Poggiani Keller, "Grosio (So), Dosso dei Castelli e Dosso Giroldo. Un insediamento protostorico sotto i castelli e altri resti dell’età del Bronzo e del Ferro", in: ''Quaderni del Parco delle incisioni rupestri di Grosio'' 2 (1995) *R. Poggiani Keller, "Atti del II convegno archeologico provinciale. Grosio 20 e 21 ottobre 1995", in: ''Quaderni del Parco delle incisioni rupestri di Grosio'' 3 (1999) *C. Rodolfi, B.Ciapponi Landi,'' Il Parco delle incisioni rupestri di Grosio ''(n.d.) *G. Antonioli, ''La storia dei castelli di Grosio nell’analisi delle fonti documentarie'' (2001) *R. Poggiani Keller, C. Liborio, M.G. Ruggiero, ''Guida all’Antiquarium del Parco delle Incisioni Rupestri di Grosio ''(2008) {{coord missing, Italy Province of Sondrio Parks in Lombardy Nature parks of Italy Protected areas established in 1978