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Early Reports and Unverified Sites (1950–1990)

The earliest reference to possible prehistoric rock art in the Marche region dates back to 1959, when Tommaso Pontoni, a local scholar and historian, reported engravings inside a cave at Costa La Villa, on the southern slope of Mount Prefoglio in the province of Macerata⁽¹⁾. He described symbolic carvings beneath a calcitic layer, rock-cut steps, nearby megalithic-like structures, as well as Proto-Villanovan ceramics in surrounding shelters. However, a thorough investigation conducted in 2022 by archaeologists Gaia Pignocchi and Tommaso Mattioli found no evidence to support these claims, rendering the site archaeologically unreliable.

Rock art envraving of Costa La Villa cave according to Pontoni (1962)

Additional unverified reports have surfaced from other locations. In Valmontagna, near Monte San Vicino in the province of Ancona, Pietro Giuseppetti, a local speleologist, described in 1981 cruciform and anthropomorphic engravings on a limestone slab near a karstic cavity⁽²⁾. Due to the site’s difficult accessibility and the absence of formal study, these claims remain unconfirmed, though similar descriptions appear in other publications by Giuseppe Recanatini⁽³⁾ and Ausilio Priuli⁽⁴⁾. Another report comes from the territory of Jesi, where Mr. A. Bocchino claimed to have observed a vulvar symbol associated with an ithyphallic figure carved into rock. This vague account, recorded by Priuli ⁽⁵⁾ and submitted to the Museo di Arte Preistorica in Capodiponte, also remains unverified and undocumented in the field.

From Early Reports to Scientific Confirmation (2000–2020)

In contrast to the earlier uncertain reports, the only confirmed site of prehistoric painted rock art in the Marche region is the Riparo delle Rudielle, discovered in the 1980s by Paolo Appignanesi (1943–2021)(Fig. 1), honorary inspector of the National Board of Antiquities⁽⁶⁾. Located in Cingoli (province of Macerata), on the southern slope of Mount Sant’Angelo, this rock shelter is nestled within a narrow river valley, contributing to its natural preservation and archaeological significance. The site features black-painted motifs, including a schematic anthropomorphic figure and linear elements, partially covered by a thin layer of mineral concretion, which supports their antiquity. As noted by the archaeologist Gaia Pignocchi (Fig. 2), this layer has helped preserve the artwork over time. Today, Riparo delle Rudielle represents a rare and invaluable window into the symbolic and artistic world of prehistoric communities in central Italy, standing as the sole archaeologically verified site of its kind in the Marche region⁽⁶⁾.

The Riparo delle Rudielle area in 1961 before the intervention of the stone quarries (courtesy of Paolo Appignanesi)

The second known rock site in the Marche region is Pian dei Raggetti, a semi-horizontal rock outcrop located just below the summit of Mount Cònero ⁽⁷⁾. The surface features human-made markings such as channels, cup marks, circular pits, and rectangular basins—likely linked to ritual practices from the pre-Protohistoric period. Although these features are more accurately described as linear hollows and rock-cut structures rather than traditional petroglyphs, they exhibit complex symbolic patterns that may reflect ancient water rituals, fertility symbolism, or magical-therapeutic practices. One particularly striking motif resembles a vulva, possibly linked to female fertility rites. The markings were first reported in 1971 by local scholars Giuseppe Barbone and Rosa Maria Lusardi Barbone, who immediately recognized their archaeological significance. However, the site has only recently become the focus of a structured research and conservation project involving regional institutions and archaeologists, along with new initiatives for public engagement and site enhancement, such as tourist signs marking hiking trail 1B to the rock engravings within Conero Park (Fig. 3) and downloadable brochures available on the park's official website.

References

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• (1) Pontoni, Tommaso (1962). Gli Italici nella valle del Chienti. Quaderni dell’Appennino Camerte, 4, 57-59.
• (2) Giuseppetti, Pietro (1981). Incisioni rupestri presso Ancona. Bollettino del Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, XVIII, 111.
• (3) Recanatini, Alberto (2000). La sacralità del Monte Conero : tradizioni mitologiche, religiosità popolare, presenze monastiche (Vol. 6), Camerano, 29
• (4) Priuli, Ausilio (1991). La cultura figurativa Preistorica e di Tradizione in Italia. Pesaro: Giotto Printer, 110.
• (5) Priuli, Ausilio (1991). La cultura figurativa Preistorica e di Tradizione in Italia. Pesaro: Giotto Printer, 110.
• (6) Pignocchi, Gaia (2018). Riparo delle Rudielle (Cingoli, MC). Notiziario di Preistoria e Protostoria, 5(I), 12-13.
• (7) Pignocchi, Gaia (2012). La roccia con incisioni del Monte Cònero: relazione preliminare. Preistoria Alpina, 46, 93-98.