Alberto Marretta
Director of the Seradina-Bedolina Archaeological Park (Capo di Ponte, Valcamonica). My research focuses on the prehistoric rock art of Valcamonica and other alpine sites. I have carried out several documentation fieldwork projects in the Central Alps and have worked intensively on specific themes in Valcamonica - e.g. images of birds, musical instruments, individual rocks (Seradina I R. 12, Foppe di Nadro R. 7) or whole areas (Loa/Berzo Demo, Coren di Redondo/Capo di Ponte). I have also carried out multivariate analyses on image frequency and association among the statue-menhir of Valcamonica and Valtellina and developed digital techniques for traditional 2D rock art recording. One of my research interests concerns the history of rock art studies with a particular focus on Western Europe and the Alpine region.
My current work includes the survey, recording and study of rock art in the Seradina-Bedolina Archaeological Park, the analysis of the so-called "topographical compositions" and the spatial analysis in relation to variations in style between the sites of the middle Valcamonica.
Last but not least, I also contribute to the following projects:
- "Quattro Dossi" project, Capo di Ponte, Valcamonica (with P. Rondini, Università degli Studi di Pavia)
- Inventory of the pre-Roman inscriptions of Valcamonica (with S. Solano - Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di Bergamo e Brescia).
Address: 25052, Piancogno (BS)
Italy
My current work includes the survey, recording and study of rock art in the Seradina-Bedolina Archaeological Park, the analysis of the so-called "topographical compositions" and the spatial analysis in relation to variations in style between the sites of the middle Valcamonica.
Last but not least, I also contribute to the following projects:
- "Quattro Dossi" project, Capo di Ponte, Valcamonica (with P. Rondini, Università degli Studi di Pavia)
- Inventory of the pre-Roman inscriptions of Valcamonica (with S. Solano - Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di Bergamo e Brescia).
Address: 25052, Piancogno (BS)
Italy
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Books by Alberto Marretta
I contributi approfondiscono diversi temi: lo stato di conservazione delle superfici, le modalità di intervento dei protagonisti sul campo e il loro rapporto con i ricercatori e le autorità nazionali, la presenza o meno di superfici istoriate oggi non più ritrovate e, infine, lo specifico ruolo svolto dalle missioni tedesche nel più ampio quadro della storia delle ricerche sull’arte rupestre della Valle Camonica.
Edito nel 2019, il volume doveva essere presentato al pubblico nell’autunno 2020 insieme a Filippo Maria Gambari che ha seguito il progetto come Soprintendente Archeologo della Lombardia. Lo presentiamo ora su Academia.edu, a distanza di due anni, per unirci a tutti gli studiosi che dal 16 al 18 novembre 2022 si riuniranno a Roma al Museo delle Civiltà nel convegno “Connessioni. Oggetti, saperi, parole, culture e civiltà” per ricordarlo.
B/W, 288 pages + 14 plates (10 A4, 4 A3), 400 photos + illustrations.
Papers by Alberto Marretta
ensemble (17 engraved rocks, part of the larger Seradina rock complex) and its relationship with other prehistoric evidence from the Capo di Ponte area. A complex picture emerges, with several phases of
occupation, but above all the possibility of adding an important new piece of knowledge to the material culture contexts in which the characteristic phenomenon of Valcamonica rock art has been interwoven and developed over the different epochs.
The presence of ancient paintings on vertical rock surfaces and under rock shelters is a comparatively new discovery amongst the well-known Valle Camonica rock art heritage, dominated by the rock-engravings. Very faded and almost invisible, some paintings have been briefly reported only in 1992, when the first ones were seen. In 2015 a specific project, proposed by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research (University of Cambridge) with the participation of the Archaeological Superintendence of Lombardy, was launched. This project proposes the use of new digital technologies, and in particular the use of the decorrelation stretch of the colour space (DStretch) in order to obtain a relatively clear image even from faded colour traces. Here, first of all, we would like to introduce the application of this tool to the most important panel with paintings known so far in Valle Camonica, located in the municipality of Paspardo, on which it was possible to discover two new figures almost invisible to the naked eye not seen at the time of the first report (2008-2010). On the same site, we built a 3D model of the entire rock surface, that allowed us to gather a complete and detailed documentation: a full drawing of the painted area, made without touching the rock surface – in some parts heavily degraded – and even at the spots most difficult to reach. These recent and stimulating discoveries have prompted to start a new season of field research, which led us to find new sites with paintings. Among the identified rock surfaces there is also an interesting case of overlap between painted figures and engraved figures. Along with an overview of our current knowledge of sites with paintings, we propose here some preliminary remarks on morphological and chronological aspects, as well as on the protection interventions to be programmed for this peculiar heritage.
shelter. This paper presents new unpublished data from the diggings, along with the results of the analyses on the sediments and a 14C dating, a typological analysis of the material culture and a stylistic consideration of the painted figures. The excavations documented a sequence of 4 phases of frequentation: the first human presence is evidenced by a carbonaceous layer and several copper slag, dated to the 9th-8th centuries BCE. After a hiatus, the site was re-occupied in the 6th century BCE, and a sequence of five fireplaces, all constructed in the same peculiar fashion, were created inside the small shelter. The close proximity of these structures, along with their particular shape and the analyses carried out on their contents, suggests that their use was somehow related to some sort of cultic or symbolic occurrence. The painted figures on top of the rock, which do not have physical contact with the archaeological layers, are painted in red, and depict a deer with semi-folded legs and short antlers along with an almost fully erased anthropomorphic figure. These figures are stylistically akin to other painted scenes in the area of Paspardo, which are dated to the final Iron Age (2nd-1st century BC), so there is no clear chronological link between the material use at the site and the paintings. The last stage of habitation appears to be from the middle ages, dated from the find of a silver coin found in the 2008 excavations.
I contributi approfondiscono diversi temi: lo stato di conservazione delle superfici, le modalità di intervento dei protagonisti sul campo e il loro rapporto con i ricercatori e le autorità nazionali, la presenza o meno di superfici istoriate oggi non più ritrovate e, infine, lo specifico ruolo svolto dalle missioni tedesche nel più ampio quadro della storia delle ricerche sull’arte rupestre della Valle Camonica.
Edito nel 2019, il volume doveva essere presentato al pubblico nell’autunno 2020 insieme a Filippo Maria Gambari che ha seguito il progetto come Soprintendente Archeologo della Lombardia. Lo presentiamo ora su Academia.edu, a distanza di due anni, per unirci a tutti gli studiosi che dal 16 al 18 novembre 2022 si riuniranno a Roma al Museo delle Civiltà nel convegno “Connessioni. Oggetti, saperi, parole, culture e civiltà” per ricordarlo.
B/W, 288 pages + 14 plates (10 A4, 4 A3), 400 photos + illustrations.
ensemble (17 engraved rocks, part of the larger Seradina rock complex) and its relationship with other prehistoric evidence from the Capo di Ponte area. A complex picture emerges, with several phases of
occupation, but above all the possibility of adding an important new piece of knowledge to the material culture contexts in which the characteristic phenomenon of Valcamonica rock art has been interwoven and developed over the different epochs.
The presence of ancient paintings on vertical rock surfaces and under rock shelters is a comparatively new discovery amongst the well-known Valle Camonica rock art heritage, dominated by the rock-engravings. Very faded and almost invisible, some paintings have been briefly reported only in 1992, when the first ones were seen. In 2015 a specific project, proposed by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research (University of Cambridge) with the participation of the Archaeological Superintendence of Lombardy, was launched. This project proposes the use of new digital technologies, and in particular the use of the decorrelation stretch of the colour space (DStretch) in order to obtain a relatively clear image even from faded colour traces. Here, first of all, we would like to introduce the application of this tool to the most important panel with paintings known so far in Valle Camonica, located in the municipality of Paspardo, on which it was possible to discover two new figures almost invisible to the naked eye not seen at the time of the first report (2008-2010). On the same site, we built a 3D model of the entire rock surface, that allowed us to gather a complete and detailed documentation: a full drawing of the painted area, made without touching the rock surface – in some parts heavily degraded – and even at the spots most difficult to reach. These recent and stimulating discoveries have prompted to start a new season of field research, which led us to find new sites with paintings. Among the identified rock surfaces there is also an interesting case of overlap between painted figures and engraved figures. Along with an overview of our current knowledge of sites with paintings, we propose here some preliminary remarks on morphological and chronological aspects, as well as on the protection interventions to be programmed for this peculiar heritage.
shelter. This paper presents new unpublished data from the diggings, along with the results of the analyses on the sediments and a 14C dating, a typological analysis of the material culture and a stylistic consideration of the painted figures. The excavations documented a sequence of 4 phases of frequentation: the first human presence is evidenced by a carbonaceous layer and several copper slag, dated to the 9th-8th centuries BCE. After a hiatus, the site was re-occupied in the 6th century BCE, and a sequence of five fireplaces, all constructed in the same peculiar fashion, were created inside the small shelter. The close proximity of these structures, along with their particular shape and the analyses carried out on their contents, suggests that their use was somehow related to some sort of cultic or symbolic occurrence. The painted figures on top of the rock, which do not have physical contact with the archaeological layers, are painted in red, and depict a deer with semi-folded legs and short antlers along with an almost fully erased anthropomorphic figure. These figures are stylistically akin to other painted scenes in the area of Paspardo, which are dated to the final Iron Age (2nd-1st century BC), so there is no clear chronological link between the material use at the site and the paintings. The last stage of habitation appears to be from the middle ages, dated from the find of a silver coin found in the 2008 excavations.
Questo poster, presentato alla LII Riunione Scientifica dell'Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, tenutasi a Milano nel 2017, ha mostrato in anteprima la digitalizzazione, la catalogazione e l'analisi dei dati raccolti durante le spedizioni del Forchungsinstitut für Kulturmorphologie (Francoforte sul Meno) in Valle Camonica tra il 1935 e il 1937. La tipologia dei materiali prodotti comprende fotografie, frottage, acquerelli e tempere su tela. Le immagini, realizzate in vari formati di pellicola (35mm, 6x6, 9x12) e ancora ben conservate, costituiscono una documentazione di grande importanza sull'arte rupestre della Valle Camonica conosciuta negli anni Trenta, e rappresentano una prova eccezionale dell'interesse extra-nazionale suscitato dalle scoperte in valle, soprattutto alla luce del particolare clima culturale dell'epoca. Nel 2015 la Soprintendenza Archeologica della Lombardia ha avviato il Progetto "Monitoraggio storico del patrimonio UNESCO n. 94 "Arte rupestre in Valle Camonica", Legge 77/2006 F.Y. 2013, che prevedeva l'acquisizione di una copia digitale e del catalogo di tutti i documenti della Valle Camonica conservati presso il Frobenius Institut, con il quale è stato firmato un accordo di collaborazione nel giugno 2016. L'intero studio è stato pubblicato nel 2019.
in the Northern Sector is presented. Here the so-called “megalithic wall”, an imposing stone structure dating back to the Middle Bronze Age, stands out as the most prominent archaeological feature. As for the study of the engraved rocks, the main characteristics of the site are outlined, with some more in-depth analysis dedicated to the newly discovered rocks nn. 24 and 40, two surprising findings which shed new light on a historic site that is constantly being rediscovered.
Il percorso espositivo si articola in tre sedi (il MUPRE-Museo Nazionale della Preistoria della Valle Camonica, il Parco Nazionale delle Incisioni Rupestri in località Naquane e il Parco Archeologico Comunale di Seradina-Bedolina), che approfondiscono temi diversi: al MUPRE sono illustrate le missioni, i luoghi, i protagonisti e le metodologie utilizzate per la documentazione delle incisioni rupestri, mentre presso i Parchi sono esposte alcune delle immagini relative ai due siti, che permettono di descrivere la situazione originaria delle rocce incise, in molti casi liberate dall'interro che le ricopriva proprio a partire dagli anni Trenta.
“Views, landscapes, engraved rocks. Valle Camonica in the Frobenius Institute archives (1935-1937 field campaigns)” presents a selection of photographs taken during the study missions conducted in Valle Camonica by the Frobenius Institute of Frankfurt am Main during the 1930s and digitally acquired with a specific project (L. 77/2006 E.F. 2013).
The exhibition bridges three different locations; the MUPRE-Valle Camonica National Prehistory Museum where the field campaigns and localities, as well as the methods used to record rock engravings are illustrated. The Naquane National Rock Engravings Park and the Seradina-Bedolina Municipal Archaeological Park explore different themes and display the appearance of the engraved rocks at the time; in most cases, they were freed from covering soil from the 1930s onwards.
Dal 30 novembre 2024 al 22 giugno 2025 al MUPRE-Museo Nazionale della Preistoria della Valle Camonica (Via San Martino 7, Capo di Ponte-BS)
La mostra è dedicata alle ricerche archeologiche effettuate presso la collinetta denominata “Dos dell’Arca”, a Capo di Ponte sul versante orientale della Valle Camonica. L’alpinista e studioso Gualtiero Laeng fu il primo nel 1957 a segnalare resti di strutture e reperti preistorici in questo sito. Al 1962 si datano le ricerche promosse dalla Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Lombardia e condotte sotto la direzione di Emmanuel Anati. Le indagini più recenti realizzate dall’Università degli Studi di Pavia (Progetto Quattro Dossi, 2016- 2023) hanno offerto nuovi spunti di riflessione sulla frequentazione di questo dosso e degli altri tre con cui era in relazione. La mostra è l’occasione per condividere queste ricerche ed esporre per la prima volta i reperti che, insieme alle incisioni rupestri, raccontano le vicende di Dos dell’Arca dal Neolitico fino alla romanizzazione, lungo 4.000 anni di storia.