A Visit to Parco Naquane to See Paleolithic and Neolithic Rock Drawings in the Val Camonica

Overview ~ Rock 1 ~ Rock 23 ~ Rock 35 ~ Rock 44 ~ Rock 50 ~ General park photos

   

  

Top row: Rock carvings in Val Camonica, Italy: rock 50, rock 1 - warriors on horses, rock 35 - running priest, rock 50 - warrior.

Bottom row: View over Capo di Ponte toward Concarena peak. Entrance of the Naquane Park.

Overview

We’ve been up and down this valley half a dozen times and never had the opportunity to stop until today to see the petroglyphs. The what!? The petroglyphs or rock drawings of Valcamonica, recognized by UNESCO in 1979. It was Italy’s first recognized site.

All the rock drawings taken together represents rock carvings/art going back to the 8th-6th millennium BC. Pretty impressive.

Today, we stopped in just one of many parks in the region and spent a few hours. We are at Capo di Ponte, in the Province of Brescia, Italy. Specifically, we are just on the edge of the village and uphill in the Parco nazionale delle incisioni rupestri di Naquane.

This park was created in 1955 by the Archaeological Superintendence of Lombardy, extends over 35 hectares on hills east of the Oglio river, ranging in altitude from 400 to 600 meters above sea-level. There are many paths within the park that allow you to get up close to the engravings.

Some resources to help:

• Ample parking here: location.
• Google Street View of the site.
• The park is ordered by “rocks”. Think of each rock like a huge canvas. (Who knows what other canvases lie beneath the moss and debris?)
• Up close the “great” rock: Naquane Great Rock, Valcamonica, virtual tour entry (europreart.net)
• We spent about 1.5 hours here and didn’t see it all! (We only show a couple of the “rocks” here.) We had planned to see the nearby Rock art Natural reserve of Ceto, Cimbergo and Paspardo as well but a lunch appointment beckoned us to leave. We’ll be back!
• If you are looking for a fun lunch spot, try Osteria Concarena in the cute village of Cerveno.

About Val Camonica:

• Val Camonica one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. We travel up and down the valley going from Bergamo to Ponte di Legno / Passo del Tonale (for all sorts of outdoor activities). It’s a slightly less efficient timewise to get to Merano. (See A Week in Merano, Italy – Hiking.) Finally, if you haven’t seen the Presena glacier covered in summer to protect it, you don’t know what sad is. (See Presena Glacier – A summer visit to the covered glacier.)
• Not only are the rock drawings inscribed in UNESCO, but the whole valley is also a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This valley is happening. Many of our “local” wines come from the valley.
• Val Camonica is derived from the Latin 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.

Rock 1: The Great Rock

This rock has more than two thousand figures engraved over its surface; it is not easy to see them all, even less to remember them. The most ancient figures, very few, date back to the recent phases of the Neolithic, six thousand years ago. The great majority of the others were engraved during the end of the Bronze Age and above all (over 80%) throughout the Iron Age, during the 1st millennium BC.

  

Rock 1, the Great Rock in Parco Naquane, Val Camonica: animals and hunters (left), hunter with long spear (center), Sector I (right).

  
Rock 1: Deer and mystery shovel (left), labyrinth (center), Sector G (right).

  

Rock 1 information boards and view of rock 1 and viewing boardwalk.

  

Views of rock 1 in Parco Naquane, Val Camonia (left), with cat (center), with mystery shovel carvings (right). 

Rock 23: “Four-wheeled Wagon”

The wagon scene on rock 23 was carved with a double perspective: a depiction device commonly used in the ancient times to make all the parts of an object visible: the wagon itself is represented from above while the four radiant wheels and the two horses are seen from a lateral point of view.

 

Rock 23: wagon carving (left) and information board (right).

Rock 35: “The Running Priest” and “Cammunian Village”.

The so-called "running priest" is lively figure that looks like it could have been done in our times. It is a male figure wearing a head gear with back bent feathers. The figure raises one of his arms while the other rests on his hip and his legs bent in a way that may suggest a running or a dance. This figure dates to the Iron Age.

   

Rock 35: Communian village (left and center) and running priest (right).

 

Left: boardwalk around rock 35 and view south down Val Camonica (left) and information board (right).

Rock 44: Halberd-Axes

We didn’t find them, but include a photo from that rock.

 

Rock 44: Information board and carvings.

Rock 50: Prayers, knights, "the big warrior", inscriptions.

The first rock you come upon after entering the park. Depending on the light, you might not think there is anything there but look carefully to see looms, labyrinth, and the mysterious shovels.

The shovel engravings, whose first appearance dates back to the Middle-Late Bronze Age (16th-13th centuries BC), have been object of several interpretations, Among the most interesting ones it is worth mentioning the resemblance with razors discovered among grave goods in cremation burials, which is also associated with the habit of collecting the ashes of the departed. Bronze shovels have been also found in women graves both of the Golasecca Celts and of the palaeo-Venetic regions, where they are supposed to be linked to domestic activities. Finally, we must indicate the votive function of shovel groups, interpreted as symbolic representations of votive offerings. Therefore, the shovel in Valle Camonica rock art seems to have both a male and female value, and also suggests a different use of the object according to the figurative context where it is placed.

  
   

Rock 50: Big warrior (left), prayers (center), boardwalk around rock (right).

  

Rock 50: Winter light on rock carvings (left), viewing platform (center), fractured surface (right).

  

Rock 50: warriors (left) and prayers (right).

  

Rock 50: information boards.

General Park photos

   

Entrance to the park (left and center) and history of park (right).

  

House on the climb to the park (left), moss and rock carving (center), view over Val Camonica from the park (right).

Travelmarx Music Picks - Winter 2024 - Harbor Mind

Composite image of 25 albums featured in the Travelmarx Winter 2024 playlist.

Our first post of the new year and it’s a playlist (Spotify link). Some thoughts about this playlist:

• Melody Nelson appears in two songs, the 13th Ward Social Club’s “Melody Nelson”, and Mick Harvey’s “Melody Nelson”. The name refers to the concept album “Histoire de Melody Nelson”, by French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Released in 1971, the album’s story follows the romance between the middle-aged narrator and a 15-year-old girl named Melody Nelson.
• The track "Social Roll” is from the second album “Social Limbo” from the Italian group Opez. (Really loving their music and they are Italian!) The album is a collection of eleven dreamy and haunting acoustic instruments. We like the idea of “Social Roll” as when you dive into the world of social media, you get rolled (taken advantage of). That’s our interpretation, not Opez’s.
• The harbor mind.
• This term describes a mindset or way of thinking that is influenced by the rhythms and transience of coastal life. This concept is often associated with the early Greeks, who lived near the sea.
• While this theme doesn’t appear directly in the playlist, it influenced us when selecting the tracks. Specifically, we had just finished the book “How to Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks” by Adam Nicolson where one of the central ideas is the harbor mind.
• In October, we had a chance to visit of the cities (Miletus, Priene, Ephesus) that are discussed in Nicolson’s book. (See 18 Days in Turkey, Postcards from Istanbul, Let’s Do the Pamukkale).
• What an emotional ode to Kate Bush by Pone. We include the track "Breathing - ICU". Read more.

13th Ward Social Club - "Melody Nelson"
Assaf Spector - Gitkin - "The Last Chuck"
Aze - "Sudoku"
BALTHVS - "All is One"
Benjamin Clementine – "Difference"

Beth Gibbons Rustin Man - "Romance"
Emiliana Torrini The Colorist Orchestra - "Racing the Storm"
Fabio Viscogliosi - "Camera"
Harry Paradise - "Slow Walk Mango Promenade"
Howe Gelb - "Running Behind"

Jay-Jay Johanson - "Cheetah"
Jeb Loy Nichols - "Big Trouble Comes in Through a Small Door"
Kid Local - "A Grand Love Theme"
Mick Harvey - "The Ballad of Melody Nelson"
Mieke Miami - "Cry Baby Cry"

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Breathless"
Nicolas Godin - "Team Vulcan"
Opez - "Social Roll"
Pone - "Breathing - ICU"
Quantic Alice Russell - "Travelling Song"

Spain - "Before It All Went Wrong"
The Good The Bad and The Queen - "History Song"
The Handsome Family - "Far from Any Road"
The Movers - "Give Five or More"
The Walkmen - "Red Moon"

Rules for Blogging - Gathered from 16 Years of Experience

   

AI images about blogging (source).

The following are principles that have guided us in blogging for the last 16 years. We didn't start off with a set of principles in mind, rather, they developed in time. Take what guidance you want from them or in the least get inspired to come up with your own. (You can read “blog” here as “write” in whatever format or platform you choose.)

Rules of Thumb

Blogging Rules of Thumb - Strategic

• Blog for yourself first and foremost.
• Don't spend too much timing imagining a perceived audience and what will make them happy. What makes you happy is what you should write about.
• The creation process is the point of blogging. Not number of readers or popularity.
• Follow your passion for what you blog about. Follow it to odd extremes and go down different paths.
• Stay away from negativity unless it is constructive and illustrative. Negativity doesn’t age well and is hard to do well and wittily.
• Short posts are okay. If you don't have much to say, don't say much.
• Unique diagrams, photos, and insight are good. Be different. Add value through your uniqueness. Add value by writing about your experiences.
• Think long term about how the blog will age over time. Will a post be a time capsule of interest, remain relevant or be completely uninteresting 50 years from now? What would your writing look like in other contexts (a book e.g.)?
• Connect your blog posts together over time.

Blogging Rules of Thumb - Tactical

• High resolution images are good. The higher the better. Storage is free.
• Use links but don't make the post dependent on them. Links don't last long, i.e., sites disappear and links change surprisingly frequently.
• Try to get as close to the reference material you are using as possible rather than relying on secondary sources. (If you restate Wikipedia often, maybe you should go and join their effort and make their pages better and stop blogging. I should take my own advice.)
• When creating a link don't just say "here", spell out the link name. Think about a printed version of the material: "here" won't make sense.

Set Your Expectations

• If you are a new blogger or an obscure blogger (and most are, including this blog), chances are that few people will read your blog. Not even your friends or family. Screaming into the void? Pissing into the wind? Perhaps. Our blogging theme song could be Birds Fly (A Whisper to A Scream) by the Icicle Works.
• If you are thinking you can make a quick buck on advertising, run the numbers carefully. You have to have a lot of page views. (For example, read about our experience here: Valentine’s Day and I Broke Up with Google AdSense.)
• Unless you are already famous, chances are that your blog will be found when people search for something and come upon your blog and word of mouth or links start happening. (Assuming you don't pay for placement or something like that.)
• Spend a little time and understand how to blog so that search engines can find and understand what you are writing about.
• You will create ugly and beautiful posts. It's hard to know how a post will turn out. Also, it's hard to tell what will be popular (by tallying page views over time). Don't worry, just create.
• Fill out the post metadata like location, and search descriptions. Give good URI names to the posts like "rules-for-blogging.html".
• Publishing your blog content in our social media can help bring in readers. It's not something we've done with this blog.

Unexpected Blog Rewards

• A blog is a handy reference to look up things you did, said or discovered. We can't tell you the number of times we use our own blog for looking up things we've done.
• A blog is handy to send to friends asking for advice on something you covered in a blog. Again, numerous times we've sent links to our blog about how to do something or something we did (usually travel-related).

Content Freshness

Keeping content fresh and thinking about future conversions is probably the furthest thing from your mind if you are just starting off. However, it's worth spending some time thinking about it, in particular how you'll be able to move content form one platform to a future platform.

In early 2023, we started thinking about how to convert blog content (accessible from RSS feeds) into markdown that we could save elsewhere. (In particular, we were targeting our Scrapbook effort as a blog backup.)

We learned a few things to help us with future conversions. Some lessons from this effort include:

1) Links to websites (besides Wikipedia) don't endure particularly long. We found many broken links in our old posts.

• Lesson: If necessary, take a screenshot of the website to show it, especially if it’s an obscure site. Sounds stupid to do but think 10-20 years in the future. Or create a PDF of the site.
• Lesson: Museum websites always change (and don't put redirects). If you must link, Wikipedia is a better choice.
• Lesson: When linking to a website, don't link deep into the site. Link just the main page.

2)  Linking to other images breaks when image names change. Redirects are almost never in place.

• Lesson: Always copy the image and give credit if necessary.

3) Formatting styles change in time. There will always be some time needed for "conversion" or "curation". To lessen the burden, consider the following:

• Lesson: Go easy on links. It's okay not to hyperlink everything. Don't set target attributes.
• Lesson: Avoid weird formatting like coloring (when not necessary) or spans or complicated HTML.
• Lesson: Check the HTML and make sure it's as simple as possible (for future conversions).
• Lesson: Be careful copying from Word or other sources as they can introduce formatting you may not want.

4) Don't’ skimp on images.

• Lesson: Blog posts without at least one image are kind of boring. At least, when we looked back at old posts with no images, that was our first feeling.
• Lesson: Always add at least one image and use your own images whenever possible.
• Lesson: If an image isn’t readily available, have fun with the AI image generators? How well can you describe your blog to create an image to match? Examples are included in this post.

5) Add yourself, add little easter eggs.

• Lesson: Put your thoughts and some "color" of the moment in your life that you are writing the post. It's a joy to read some thoughts you had no matter how silly from way back.

McCoy Basket Weave Flower Pots and Chlorophytum comosum (Spider plant)

 

In this POTS AND PLANTS post, we pair McCoy Basket Weave Planters with spider plants, Chlorophytum comosum. Several points to make:

• Almost all of our McCoy pots made it to Bergamo, Italy in the international move. We may have left a few behind, stashed in a friend’s basement. Note to self: check.
• The name typically used to describe these pieces is “McCoy Pottery Basket Weave Planters”, circa 1950's.
• It’s great to be using these pots again. They are as they say in Italian of a certain cookie “brutti ma buoni” - ugly but good. The colors are garish, the forms strange, but we love them anyway.
• It’s been a long time since a “Pots and Plants” post! In fact, our first in the series back in 2011 McCoy Flower Pots and Crassulaceae featured some of the same pots seen here.

We’ve been on a spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) kick lately. One day last summer, we were walking by the small chapel Beata Vergine di Caravaggio on the backside of the upper city of Bergamo and saw a spider plant outside the entrance. Usually, this plant is inside the locked chapel. We took one of the many plantlets and brought it home. That plant in turn produced more plantlets which are shown in these McCoy pots.

Spider plants remind me of my youth when I was designated plant waterer. They are tough plants. Many of these starts are destined for spots outdoors. Here, they are pictured in our “tower” where we temperature can go between 10 – 50 Celsius (50 to 104 Fahrenheit) seasonally.

It’s good to putz around with plants again. We’ve missed that. The other half of Travelmarx is thinking soon I'll be jonesing for macrame holders to hold these spider plants. Good idea!

Note: There is a Tradescantia snuck into these photos.