Rock Art of Molise (South Italy)

Paintings and Engravings

The Unique Post-Palaeolithic Rock Art Site: A Cultural and Geographical Landmark

The only known post-Palaeolithic rock art site preserved in the Molise region is located at Morricone del Pesco, in the municipality of Civitanova del Sannio (province of Isernia). First identified in 2011 by local resident Guido Lastoria and later studied by archaeologists Carlo Peretto from the University of Ferrara and Dario Sigari from the Archaeological Cooperative 'Le Orme dell’Uomo'⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾, the site is situated on a rocky spur overlooking the northern side of the Serrata Valley.

Morricone del Pesco rock art (picture Archeologia Voci dal Passato)

This area is intersected by the historic Lucera–Castel di Sangro transhumance route, traditionally used for the seasonal movement of herds between the inland regions of Abruzzo and the Gargano area in Puglia. The Morricone del Pesco rock shelter features both prehistoric and historic rock art, including engravings and black-painted figures. The site displays anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and geometric motifs that align closely with other Apennine rock art traditions from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Recent studies confirm its significance in filling a major geographical gap in central-southern Italy’s rock art landscape. The shelter’s strategic location, elevated above the Trigno River and facing the Serrata Valley, suggests it was used long-term as a territorial marker and cultural landmark by ancient communities.

Morricone del Pesco rock art site (photo by lovelymolise.com)

References

(1) Sigari, Dario, & Peretto, Carlo (2014). Morricone del Pesco shelter, a new rock art discovery in southern Italy. Rock Art Research, 31(1), 104-106.
(2) Sigari, Dario (2014). La scoperta del riparo di Morricone del Pesco. Nuove prospettive nello studio dell’arte rupestre preistorica dell’Italia centro-meridionale. ArcheoMolise, 18, 6-17.
(3) Sigari, Dario, Vaccaro, C., Holakooei, P., Fossati, A., Lembo, G., Lastoria, G., & Peretto, C. (2014). Pitture pre-protostoriche nel riparo Morricone del Pesco (Civitanova del Sannio, Molise). Paper presented at the Atti del XX Congresso dell’AAI. Variabilità umana tra passato e presente, Ferrara.
(4) Sigari, D. (2017). L’arte rupestre si fa paesaggio. Il caso del Morricone del Pesco (Civitanova del Sannio, IS). In R. Grifoni Cremonesi & A. M. Tosatti (Eds.), L’arte rupestre dell’età dei metalli nella penisola italiana: localizzazione dei siti in rapporto al territorio, simbologie e possibilità interpretative (pp. 117-130). Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.
(5) Sigari, Dario (2014). La scoperta del riparo di Morricone del Pesco. TRACCE Online Rock Art Bull. 31 No

Contents of this page

Fig. 1 - Mr. Guido Lastoria, the discoverer of the rock art figures at the Morricone del Pesco site

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