The Rock Art Natural Reserve of Ceto, Cimbergo, Paspardo, established in 1983 upon the previous Foppe di Nadro Park, covers an over 300-hectar large area and is placed in a unique setting of great archaeological, environmental and ethnographic importance. The archaeological sites within the Reserve include about 500 rocks, carved in Prehistoric times and in the Middle Ages, all placed on the Eastern side of Middle Valcamonica. Such a rich set of rock art is uniformly distributed, sometimes in thick groups, all along the mountain side, starting from Nadro (Ceto), then going up to Cimbergo and continuing, beyond the Ré stream gorge, into the territory of Paspardo.
Rock Art Natural Reserve of Ceto, Cimbergo, Paspardo
The natural milieu is marked by varying environment types, according to altitude. These bands of territory were differently exploited over the ages: low height terraces were prevalently cultivated with vineyards and subsistence vegetables, sporadic glades were used for pasturing, the chestnut forests (500–1000 m above sea level) were exploited for wood and straw, high altitude coniferous wood and summer pastures. Though not perceivable from the bottom of the valley, the mountainside running from Capo di Ponte to Cimbergo includes several plateaus and is composed of impressive terraces, separated from each other by smooth rocky walls, often dozens of metres high. Areas filled with large fallen boulders and stones are very common, giving evidence of the recurrent phases of instability that characterized the Eastern mountainside over the millennia. This precariousness can be easily regarded as the main cause of many of the bedrocks carved in Prehistoric Age being hidden under the soil today.
Up to now, researches have brought to light over 20 sites with Prehistoric and Middle Ages rock art. The areas that are open to visit, limited in number because of obvious preservation and safety reasons, are: Foppe di Nadro (Ceto), Campanine (Cimbergo) and some sub–areas in Paspardo.
Riserva naturale incisioni rupestri di Ceto, Cimbergo e Paspardo
Via Piana 29 – 25040 Nadro di Ceto (Brescia)
Phone: +39 0364 433465
Email riservaincisioni.museo@arterupestre.it
Open year round
Summer: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm (closed on Tuesday)
Winter: Weekdays – 10:00 am – 2:00 pm; Saturdays and Sundays – 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (closed on Tuesday)
Admission fee: € 5,00