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THE HISTORY AND ART OF "VALLE CAMONICA"
As the last glacier retreated towards the north, the valley was covered by vegetation and populated by fauna. Attracted by this natural wealth, a few groups of humans began to go up the Valley itself to hunt and gather wild fruit. Around the year 5000 BC, the advent of a new climactic stage permitted the introduction of an adapted agricultural model: villages were built, fields were harvested and animals were breed, while hunting and gathering persisted with minor importance until Iron Age times. In later periods, the Copper Age and the Bronze Age, human settlements in the valley increased and became stabilised in certain areas, in many cases on the same places as present villages. In particular, during Iron Age activities like mining and working of this metal opened up Valcamonica towards the outside world, increasing trade with other peoples. For instance, the wealth in iron minerals caused not only the creation of alpine passages in the valley, useful for trade, but also gave rise to contact between the local people and Etruscans traders (around the VI-V century BC). The other civilisation with which the Camuni came into contact during the Iron Age was that of the Celts, who invaded Northern Italy in the IV century BC. There are many traces of Celtic presence in the valley, from archaeological artefacts found during past years in few necropolises at Breno, Lovere and Capodiponte and, more recently, to the discovery of the remains of an house dating back to the I century BC at Pescarzo di Cemmo. The two cultures, Celtic and Camunian, merged thanks to exchanges and reciprocal influences and in this way formed a new original society with its own customs and ancient traditions. The rock engravings are maybe the result of prayers or magic rites, through which the ancient Camuni tried to communicate with the mysterious and powerful forces dominating the universe. The prayers and magic rites were held in places where the personalities and forces of those to whom they were addressed manifested themselves. Two mountains of the middle Valle Camonica, Pizzo Badile and Concarena, appear to have been of great importance because of their monumental and fiery presence in the middle valley, like two immense gods observing the camunnian world. This is perhaps the explanation for the richness in rock engravings here, that probably even formed a sanctuary of prehistoric times, where other peoples from the alpine area came to pray. Although there are many more areas with rock engravings than the ones listed here, we have chosen to indicate the easiest to reach.
Locality: SONICO Characteristics: Equipped itinerary. In a vast area one can observe a series of engraved rocks featuring solar symbols, geometrical figures, maps, “palette” and patterns.
Locality: CAPO DI PONTE - NATIONAL PARK OF NAQUANE. Opening hours: Jan./March and Oct./Dec. 9-17h. Apr./June and Sept. 9-18,45h, July/Aug. 9-19,45h. Closed on Mondays except holidays. Tel. 0364.42140. Characteristics: Equipped itinerary. A tour of the Park gives an almost complete panorama of prehistoric, proto-historic and early historic engravings.
Locality: CEMMO- MASSI DI CEMMO 1 AND 2 Characteristics: These are two important documents of the Copper Age in Valle Camonica. They are two big boulders fallen from the rock wall dominating the small plain called “Pian delle Greppe” and are decorated with deers, daggers, anthropomorphs, ploughing scenes, other animals.
Locality: BEDOLINA (Pescarzo di Cemmo) Characteristics: Of particular relevance the frequency of map compositions, among which the spectacular “Map of Bedolina”, showing an ancient farming settlement at the bottom of the valley facing the rock itself.
Locality: CETO-CIMBERGO-PASPARDO Characteristics: a) Foppe di Nadro. Many surfaces engraved from the Neolithic Age to historic times. Along the route there are also shelters under the rock that were used as small prehistoric settlements or burials. In Nadro the Didactical Museum of the Reserve shows objects found during excavations in the area and reproductions of tools in use during the various prehistoric ages. Opening hours: 9-12h, 14-17h, Sunday too. Tel. 0364.433465. b) Campanine di Cimbergo. Many prehistoric engravings, some of which recently discovered. Worthy of note is the inscription IOVIS pertaining to Roman times and the many christian scenes and engravings. c) Paspardo. Prehistoric and historic inscriptions, among which the monumental composition of the Capitello dei Due Pini (Copper Age). In this locality it is perceivable the continuity of the sacred value of the rocks from prehistoric to christian times, thanks to the presence of few medieval inscriptions and a chapel. It is worth visiting the area of the Reserve for its naturalistic beauty, as well as to observe the remains of the medieval set-up of the area.
Locality: DARFO-BOARIO TERME - PARCO di LUINE Characteristics: A visit to the engravings at Luine shows what are so far considered as the most ancient representations in Valcamonica (Protocamunian, around 8000 B.C.).
The definitive conquest of the valley by the Romans took place in the year 16 BC, but there must have been contact between the two peoples prior that date. After a first stage during which Valcamonica were attached to a nearby municipium (probably Brescia), though maintaining their own tribal constitution, the Camuni soon acquired Latin citizenship and later Roman, with fall political, civil and religious rights, becoming an autonomous Res Publica. The Romans developed a dense road network in Valle Camonica, and built a town of great political and civil relevance: Cividate Camuno, located in the Middle Valle Camonica in a natural defence position and at the entrance to a few of the most important transit roads. Archaeological excavations reveal that the economy of Valle Camonica in Roman times flourished and was based both on local productivity and imported goods. Some epigraphs attest the survival of gods that could be evidently of local origin. Their names are Aburnus et Aburna and Alantedoba, indigenous divinities probably also concealing celtic influences. Other epigraphs instead testify cult of gods with Roman names, but this is the result of the meeting and synthesis of Roman divinities and local divinities sharing the some features. The phenomenon is called “interpretatio romana”; a good example is that of Minerva, to whom a sanctuary in the locality of Spinera di Breno (currently being restored) and a place of worship at Borno were dedicated, but also the case of Mercury and the cult of Jupiter Giove Iurario, the one “to the gods and goddesses”. The epigraphs also attest the worship of roman and oriental gods, the cult however being practised by foreigners who carne to live in Valcamonica. At Cividate Camuno the excavations of the theatre and amphitheatre can be admired, and one can go to the local Archaeological Museum of Valle Camonica. The Museum visiting hours are as follows: from 9 to 14h, closed on Mondays.
With the crisis and fall of the Roman Empire, the political, social and cultural panorama in Europe changed profoundly. With regard in particular to Northern Italy, the Goth dominion was immediately succeeded by the Longobard one. The presence of the Longobard in Valle Camonica is attested by a series of archaeological discoveries, ranging from the dedications of the oldest churches to a series of linguistic remains. The latter also show us something of the nature of the presence in the valley of longobards people. Valle Camonica appears to have been a “Reichsgut”, that is, a direct property of the royal exchequer. Even after the end of the Longobard dominion and the institution of the Frankish one this situation reappeared: in fact, Charle Magne, in 774, donated Valcamonica to the monastery of Tours, of royal foundation, and thus reporting directly to the emperor. The bishop of Brescia did not have property and power in Valle Camonica, and he repeated efforts to extend his influence to it. Only in 994 these efforts have an effect. From that time a series of wars between the Camuni and the bishop (and later the Comune too) of Brescia began, as the people of Valle Camonica were determined to stay independent from external interference. The unity that the Camuni were able to find in defending common interests was however absent with regard to internal affairs. In fact, Valcamonica was tormented by wars between rival families. Federico Barbarossa, elected emperor in 1152 tried, with the “Constitutio Pacis” in 1158 (Diet of Roncaglia) to bring order in Italy putting an end to fights between enemy factions and communes. This was supposed to stabilise the situation in Valle Camonica too, especially since Federico had given the Camuni full political autonomy in recognition of their support to the imperial cause. The war between Brescia and Valle Camonica continued. In an undefined year between 1286 and 1295, Berardo Maggi, bishop of Brescia, obtained the title of Duke of Valle Camonica. At that point the Camuni, who still would not surrender, asked, with the consent of Brescia, the arbitration of the Visconti from Milan, who took advantage of the occasion to extend their dominion to the valley and its reserves of wood and iron, while Valle Camonica effectively became independent of Brescia. The presence of Milan, that lasted for about one century, was followed by that of Venice (from 1426 but definitively only as of 1454), attracted to Valcamonica by the resources it could offer. To reconcile the demands for independence by the Camuni with its own need of political support from Brescia, Venice had the Camuni governed by a Captain of Valcamonica elected from among the nobles of Brescia, but he also left them some autonomy. The parenthesis of Venetian dominion was long and terminated only at the end of the eighteenth century with the advent of the French and the episode of the Cisalpine Republic. This phase was followed by the presence of the Austrians, and from then on the history of Valle Camonica followed the path of our national history.
There are two great examples of Romanesque in Valcamonica: the parish church of San Siro and the church of the Monastery of San Salvatore at Capodiponte. The former has a basilica plan with three naves and three terminal apses that, seen from outside, lays on a rock perpendicular to the Oglio river, with a really remarkable scenographic effect. Inside San Siro there are still remains of some old paintings. Among these there was (now it belongs to a private collection in New York) the oldest painting dated and signed in Valcamonica: it is a polyptich bearing the inscription “Parotus Pinxit 1447”. The church of San Salvatore is what remains of an ancient monastery, possibly built upon a previous benedictine structure referable to the Longobard era. The church was built in the XI century and is strongly marked by the burgundy style, linked to the same monastic order. In the past there were many castles and forts in Valle Camonica because of its strategic position, its economic relevance and the presence of local warrior families. Unfortunately time erased many of these monuments. Here we shall describe two that are still more or less complete: the castles of Breno and Cimbergo. The hill upon which the castle of Breno lays was selected as a dwelling area already in prehistoric times; there are still traces of human presence in the Late Palaeolithic Age, the Neolithic, and even the Copper and Bronze Ages. The oldest remains of a castle date back to the VII century, though it is not improbable that a fortified borough might have existed already in the previous century. A real development of castles came about between 1100 and 1300. The castle of Cimbergo rises on a rocky promontory over a deep and impervious gorge through which the Re stream flows, obtaining in this manner a natural defence. Badly damaged in the course of time, only some of the perimeter walls of the castle still stand, that however can still give visitors a sense of the fascination and fear that this manor must have inspired. Going through Valcamonica one encounters many villages that still bear traces of old events and forgotten customs. Among those that best conserve their original structure. Bienno must be mentioned. Discoveries relating to Roman times appear to attest the inhabitation of this area during that period. Of the medieval set-up of Bienno, a fief of the bishop of Brescia, four towers and two gates still stand. Bienno has wonderful buildings from from other periods as well: we must recall the fifteenth-sixteenth-century ones in via Contrizio and in via Mezzo, with their multi-arched loggias, the higher parts of which are made of wood. Representatives of the seventeenth and eighteenth century are the buildings in via Fantoni and the one opposite to the parish church. A visit should be made to the Mill, still operative, and to the Forge Museum. Breno, main town of Valle Camonica, besides the castle mentioned above has three medieval towers, the sixteenth-century Palazzo della Ragione and some wonderful villas. Cividate, apart from the Roman ruins and the church of Santo Stefano, offers other valuable testimonies of the past, such as the medieval nucleus behind the town hall, portals dating back to various ages and beautiful buildings. Esine has the Federici towers (XII-XIII century), that belonged to the homonymous important Ghibelline family, the Ronchi house (XVI century, open every afternoon to visitors), and finally Rocca Novella. At Erbanno one should note, in the beautiful historic centre, Palazzo Federici (XV century) with its internal portico and frescos. Traces of this family are present also in nearby Gorzone, where there is a castle that probably originated in 1150, but was rebuilt in the XVI century. In the middle part of Valcamonica we must also mention Pescarzo di Cemmo, an old peasant and mountaineer borough that still has its characteristic structure and reveals wonderful surprises in its building techniques, in the portals and interiors, and Nadro, with its medieval tower, wonderful sixteenth-century (such as the headquarters of the Museum) and seventeenth-century buildings. In Valle Camonica painting flourished during the fifteenth century. Unfortunately, some attributions cannot yet be given and the oldest signed work is the above-mentioned polyptich by Parotus, dated 1447. After that we have to see to the last three decades of that century to encounter an artist with well-defined features and certain attributions. This is Giovan Pietro da Cemmo, who lived approximately between 1450 and 1510. The first documented work by this artist, that is, signed by him and dated 1475, is located in a chapel reserved to the brothers of the Convent of the Assumption in the municipality of Borno. After a period of absence when he worked in Bagolino and Brescia, Da Cemmo returned to Valcamonica to take up the task of frescoing the Church of Santa Maria Assunta at Esine. In Santa Maria we can enjoy the restored works by Pietro Da Cemmo; however, in general the frescos by this painter were well conserved thanks to the quality of the materials he used and his accuracy in preparing the bases on which he painted. Da Cemmo made very little use of preparatory designs and painted on a wet base except for the finishing touches. The works in the church of Santa Maria Assunta a Bienno were done in the some years as those in the church of Esine. Here too his pictorial decorations must have been completed, but we lack the walls of the presbytery that were repainted by Romanino. Da Cemmo also worked at Pisogne in Santa Maria in Silvis, probably after 1493, and in San Lorenzo at Berzo Inferiore, where the artist had already worked when in Borno. Between 1532 and 1534 Girolamo Romanino, an artist from Brescia, worked in the splendid church of Santa Maria della Neve at Pisogne, erected at the end of the fifteenth century. In his painting technique here, like in his other works, we can see that the rough-cast was done carelessly; we can see marks of the tools he used and the repairs made by Romanino where he had eliminated a pari to be redone. The artist worked in conformity with the “disdaining “ style that required a decisive kind of painting with visible strokes. The drawing is free-hand, the paintings appear to be roughly done: it is the “unfinished” of Romanino based on the idea that, although comely traced, the figures still have meaning and expressivity. The colours chosen by Romanino are bright; there are many finishing touches to give tight or obtain chromatic effects. Romanino painted at the end of the third decade (possibly in 1538) in Breno, in the church of Sant’Antonio. In Sant’Antonio at Breno Romanino’s disdaining style reached its apex. The lack of care in preparation of bases is evident, and also in the size of the works. the colour technique, etc. The last mural work by Romanino in Valcamonica is in Santa Maria Assunta di Bienno. Romanino’s style is very composed here, by comparison with his works in Breno, probably in order to adapt to the new ecclesiastic directives, already counter-reformist. In the course of the XVÌI and XVIII centuries, wood sculptures flourished throughout the Brescia area, and in particular in Valle Camonica, where the Ramus family emerged and worked from around 1630 until approximately the end of the eighteenth century. The first artist was Giovanni Battista {born in Mu in 1613), who worked both in Trentino and in Valle Camonica. Of his sons we mention Carlo (a niche in the Chapel of the Suffragio in Vione, 1607), who followed in his father’s footsteps, and Giovan Domenico, who worked at various objects in Valcamonica. Among his works the tabernacle of the main altar and the two lateral depositories for relics stand out, created with a net architectural structure, in Vione. Here the statues are well-made and are in a variety of forms, lines and colours. The oldest of Giovan Battista’s sons was Pietro Ramus, who worked in Canè, Incudine, Edolo and Cedegolo. Among his best works we mention the altar of Sant’Antonio and San Carlo at Canè and a piece on the altar of Cedegolo. Pietro Ramus had many pupils. Among these was Giovanni Giuseppe Picini di Nona in Val di Scalve (1661-1723), who distanced himself from his master’s way; he made the little altarpiece of the altar of San Siro in Breno. An important disciple of Pietro Ramus ‘s was Andrea Fantoni di Rovetta, member of a family of marble and wood sculptors (statues and furnishings). In the parish church of Zone Andrea was called upon to make the altar of the Apostles and the main altar (1690). In 1694, also in Zone, Andrea did the Deposition, while in Cerveno he was the author of the altarpieces of the altars of the Rosary and Sant’Antonio the Hermit, the groups of the tabernacle, the Statue of the Madonna and Christ dead. The other great work of art in wood in the Parish Church of Cerveno is the Via Crucis made for the most part by Beniamino Simoni and completed by the Fantoni. The XIV chapel with the Deposition is by Selleroni (1869).
During the First World War, the Italo-Austrian front stood between the two mountain ranges of Ortles-Cevedale and Adamello-Presanella. For the first time the Alpines soldiers constituted themselves m organised units of skiers and rock-climbers and fought on rock and ice at an altitude of aver 3,000 m. They had to fight not only the Austrians, but primarily the cold. Throughout 1915 the Italian soldiers were occupied with the recovery of the lines that had been divested, and many lives were sacrificed. In 1918 the ice on the Adamello turned red because of the blood shed in the furious fighting that led the Alpines to victory on Mount Grappa and the Piave, and to recovery of control over the fortifications on the Tonale, opening the way towards the Mendola Pass. For three years the Tonale was a battlefield, and deep marks were left on its landscape. At the Pass, at an altitude of 1,883 m., there is a monument - ossuary where the remains of aver 800 soldiers are that fell during the conflict, some of which only recently returned by the Adamello‘s ice. Of the best conserved entrenchment, one should visit the one in Val Malga. At an altitude of 3,276 m., at Cresta Croce, one can admire a canon carried overland there by the Alpines from the village of Temù. At the Corno d’Aola, at an altitude of 2,000 m., today there remains only the base of the imposing armed fortress that dominated Conca di Ponte di Legno and the Tonale Pass, and overtopped a long entrenchment armed with small artillery arms. The entire structure was destroyed by the Germans in 1945 during their retreat. One should also visit the Museum of the White War in Adamello, in Temù |
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English Version "VALLE CAMONICA" History and Art
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INFORMAZIONI ITINERARI ESCURSIONI PASSI E VALICHI ASCENSIONI
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