Rock Art of Lazio

The Lazio region marks the earliest documented emergence of post-Palaeolithic rock art research on the Italian peninsula, beginning in the early 20th century. Among the ten known sites, four stand out for their richness and scholarly significance: Riparo Roberto, Arnalo dei Bufali, Morra di Colecchia, and Grotta dell’Arco di Bellegra. These sites exhibit a wide range of motifs, including anthropomorphic figures (notably phi-shaped and T-shaped forms), zoomorphs (such as deer, horses and fox), and geometric patterns (including tree-like figures, lines and grids). Both painted (executed in red and black pigments) and engraved images are present, frequently superimposed, suggesting a prolonged and possibly evolving symbolic use over time. In addition, three other sites — Grotta di Val de Varri, Riparo di Grotti, and Grotta Antica — yield promising material and merit further investigation. Conversely, three sites remain insufficiently studied or pose interpretative challenges due to limited documentation or uncertain chronological and cultural contexts: Riparo e Grotta di Anticoli, Grotte di Pastena, and Riparo Cristina. Chronologically, the rock art of the region is believed to span from the Late Mesolithic (as exemplified by Morra di Colecchia), through the Neolithic (Grotta Antica), to into the Bronze Age (Riparo Roberto). Among the most noteworthy features are the stylistic parallels with Iberian schematic art at Arnalo dei Bufali, the presence of painted stalactites deliberately arranged for ritual purposes at Grotta Antica, and the exceptional preservation of pigments beneath moonmilk deposits at Grotta dell’Arco. The post-Palaeolithic rock art tradition of Lazio is thus characterized by both diversity and continuity, reflecting symbolic and ritual behaviours expressed across a range of open-air and subterranean contexts.

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History of the Research

Early Rock Art Investigations in the Lazio Region (1930–1960)

The Lazio region represents the earliest emergence of post-Palaeolithic rock art studies on the Italian peninsula, beginning in the early 20th century. In the spring of 1936, Alberto Carlo Blanc (1906-1960) (Fig. 1), a leading figure in Italian prehistoric studies and an internationally recognized scholar at the time, conducted systematic surveys of the caves in the Lepini Mountains in the Pontine region near Rome.

Arnalo dei Bufali red painting (according to Blanc)

During this survey, Blanc discovered a 30 cm-tall red-painted anthropomorphic figure with a phi-like shape in a large shelter near the village of Sezze (province of Latina), known locally as the Arnalo dei Bufali rock shelter. This news was also reported in international press coverage of the period (Fig. 2). The portion of rock surface with the painting of Arnalo dei Bufali was subsequently detached and transported to the Pigorini Museum in Rome (now Museo delle Civiltà), where it remained on display until the late 1980s. Today it has been removed from public display, and in its place, a 3D copy will be exhibited. In the publication of this rock art site in 1939⁽¹⁾, Blanc remarked that “there are no similar figures in Italy” and noted the resemblance of the Arnalo dei Bufali red paiting to the phi figures “abundant in the neo-Eneolithic rock art of Spain”. He also wrote that...

This first schematic rock painting found in Italy confirms the artistic affinities that existed in prehistoric times between eastern Spain and our peninsula.”

The idea to compare the anthropomorph of Arnalo dei Bufali, from a Mediterranean perspective, to the Schematic rock art of the Iberian Peninsula emerged from Blanc’s close relationship and sincere mutual affection with the French archaeologist Henri Breuil (1877-1961), who had published four famous volumes on Schematic rock art a few years prior⁽²⁾. Blanc and Breuil's friendship began in 1935 when they jointly discovered the second Neanderthal skull at Saccopastore in Rome. Consequently, Alberto Carlo Blanc was able to invite Breuil, along with his friend Hugo Obermaier (1877-1946) and the Chinese palaeontologist, archaeologist, and anthropologist Pei Wenzhong (1904-1982) - considered a founding father of Chinese anthropology - to visit the Arnalo dei Bufali shelter between 1936 and 1939 (Fig. 3). Today, the Arnalo dei Bufali rock art site is valued and promoted by local associations, such as the Setino Association, that commemorate its discovery and organize guided tours for visitors (Fig. 4).

Riparo Roberto rock art site (photo from Compagnia dei Lepini)

Riparo Roberto rock art black paintings (photo by Portale fotografico Setino)

Two decades later, in 1953, Marcello Zei (1920-2000) (Fig. 5), one of Blanc's disciples, discovered the black paintings of Riparo Roberto (Sezze, Latina) approximately 5km northwest of Arnalo dei Bufali⁽³⁾. This horizontal fissure, about 30m long and 5m deep, yielded numerous black paintings on its naturally vertical and smooth back walls. The rock art primarily features deer, horses, and a small canine - likely a fox - accompanied by geometric figures, possibly dating back to the Bronze Age⁽⁴⁾. This rock art site poses significant issues regarding its conservation status and accessibility. Almost the entire decorated wall has indeed been defaced in recent times with graffiti and drawings made with spray paint, compromising most of the existing paintings.

Limited Progress in Rock Art Studies (1970–2000)

Another 20 years passed before new painted sites were found in Lazio. In the late 1970s, two local archaeology enthusiasts Antonio and Maurizio Panimolle (1948 - ) discovered Morra di Colecchia (Rocca Canterano, Rome). This site is a unique natural structure resembling a dolmen (Fig. 6), formed by large and irregular blocks of limestone collapsed from Mt. Cerasolo. The rock art primarily consists of numerous fine engravings depicting tree-shaped figures, phytomorphic motifs, and lines, possibly created during the Late Mesolithic⁽⁵⁾.

Engraved figures and red painting of Morra di Colecchia, panel C (from Mattioli 2007)

Of particular interest is a phi-shaped figure painted in red ochre, superimposed onto the engravings of surface C, which was prominent in the 1980s but has since mostly disappeared. Based on superimposition and iconographic comparisons, this figure can be dated to the Neolithic age. In 1972, the cave explorers Vittorio Castellani and Giancarlo Guzzardi from Rome, while participating in a training session of the National Alpine Rescue Corps of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) conducted in the karst area of Grotte di Pastena (Pastena, Frosinone), documented several deep vertical linear incisions covered by carbonate concretions on the walls of the cave's fossil branch⁽⁶⁾. Interestingly, in the same cave, a few years later in 1981, some paintings of bison and hunting scenes created as set decoration for a film shoot were mistaken, for a brief period, as authentic. These paintings were created, as also reported in the newspapers of the time (Fig. 7), by the director, mountaineer, and environmentalist Carlo Alberto Pinelli for a television series directed by the esteemed Italian documentary filmmaker Folco Quilici. Finally, in 1984 the questionable human figure depicted in black at Riparo Cristina (Terracina, Latina) was discovered by engineer and self-educated archaeologist Piero Ceruleo (Fig. 8) from Tivoli⁽⁷⁾.

Morra di Colecchia natural dolmen-like structure (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

Expanding Horizons: Advances in Rock Art Research in the Early 21st Century (2000–2020)

It wasn't until 2004 that two significant new discoveries were made. The rock art at Riparo di Grotti (Cittaducale, Rieti), a small sandstone rock shelter along the Salto River valley discovered by the archaeologist Tommaso Mattioli, that comprises seventeen figures in black, including anthropomorphs, tree-shaped figures, grids, and lines⁽⁸⁾. Of particular interest is a 12-cm-tall masculine anthropomorph painting depicted on the vertical walls of a small niche, featuring an individual with T-shaped head, frontal view, with the body depicted using globules (Fig. 9.1). This figure is portrayed holding a small animal in its right hand and a curved object—perhaps a crook or ritual item—in its left. This iconography shares significant similarities with the anthropomorph at Riparo di Caprara in Abruzzo (Civitella Messer Raimondo, Chieti) (Fig. 9.2) and the renowned ‘Sorcerer’ from Fumane Cave⁽⁹⁾ (Verona) (Fig. 9.3).

Example of red colour rock art figure from Grotta Antica in 2014
(photo by T. Mattioli)

- Original picture

- DStretch CRGB filter

The second site discovered in Lazio in the early 2000s is Grotta Antica (Sant'Oreste, Roma), a karst cave that remained hidden for millennia in the underground darkness of Mt. Soratte near Rome before the speleologist Mr. Paolo Forconi (Fig. 10) of the Speleo Club Roma widened a tiny vertical passage on the forested slopes of Mt. Soratte in 2004. Here, a local farmer had previously observed airflow from a crack opening in the ground, indicating a possible cave continuation. After descending a couple of vertical pits, Mr. Forconi discovered previously unexplored wide chambers with archaeological remains, including ceramics, lithic artifacts, bone tools, and clumps of red colouring substance possibly ochre. This cave, a 350-meter-long karstic complex, was used as a burial site during the initial phase of the Middle Neolithic (5th – 4th millennium BCE). Based on archaeological evidence, the cavity remained accessible until the Middle Bronze Age⁽¹⁰⁾. In addition to the archaeological remains, there are traces of red ochre on the walls inside the cave (lines, dots, undulating and crisscross lines). Particularly noteworthy are two large segments of stalactite (or stalagmite) painted with red ochre and artificially positioned in a later niche.

Grotta dell'Arco di Bellegra black paintings in 2007
(photo by T. Mattioli)

- Original picture

- DStretch CRGB filter

Three years later, in 2007, another rock art site was revealed in the province of Rome, the Grotta dell’Arco di Bellegra (Bellegra, Roma) (Fig. 11) discovered by speleologist Gianni Mecchia (Fig. 12) of the Speleo Club Roma and published by archaeologist Tommaso Mattioli⁽¹¹⁾. This cave spans a length of 1000m and is a karst resurgence of the La Cona river. The cave was initially explored in 1932 by members of the Gruppo Speleologico Romano ⁽¹²⁾. Since then, the red and black paintings went unnoticed until Mr. Mecchia's discovery in 2007. The accumulation of muddy sediments upstream of the entrance, extending about 200m, posed major access problems for speleologists, spelunkers, and amateurs until recently. Thus, the focus of the first exploders and subsequent visitors was on traversing this slushy soil, leaving little time or motivation to inspect the rock walls and discover the paintings. Today, the first part of the cave is easily accessible thanks to a metal walkway. The rock art is grouped into two panels near each other, both situated approximately 3m above the natural walking surface and located 30m from the entrance, at the boundary between the area still illuminated by sunlight and the darkness of the interior. The first group features four anthropomorphic figures in red, while the other displays five in black. However, the figures in the latter group are barely visible due to being covered by a deposit of white and soft concretion (known as Mondmilch). This thin film of carbonates moisturizes the pigment of the rock art motifs, which appear unusually fresh despite their age. The iconography of Grotta dell’Arco di Bellegra is compared with the paintings of Grotta di Cala dei Genovesi (Levanzo, Trapani) in Sicily, dated to the beginning of the 3rd millennium⁽¹²⁾.

Grotta Antica, two large segments of stalactite (or stalagmite) painted with red ochre and artificially positioned in a later niche (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

References

• (1) BLANC, ALBERTO CARLO: Dipinto schematico rupestre nell'Arnalo dei Bufali sotto Sezze Romano . In: Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, vol. III, pp. 1-10, 1939.
• (2) BREUIL, HENRI: Les peintures rupestres schématiques de la péninsule iberique (IV volumes): Imprimerie de Lagny. 1933-1935
• (3) ZEI, MARCELLO: Esplorazione di grotte nei pressi di Sezze - Romano. Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, VIII, n.s., 102-107, 1953.
• (4) PRIULI, AUSILIO and SGABUSSI, GIAN CLAUDIO: I disegni a carboncino del Riparo Roberto (LT). Paper presented at the Atti della XXVIII Riunione Scientifica dell'Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria "L'Arte in Italia dal Paleolitico all'Età del Bronzo", in memoria di Paolo Graziosi, Firenze, 20-22 novembre 1989, 1992.
• (5) MATTIOLI, TOMMASO: L'arte rupestre pre-protostorica del riparo sottoroccia di Morra di Colecchia (Roccacanterano, Roma) . Paper presented at the Atti del IV Incontro di Studi sul Lazio e la Sabina, Roma, 29-31 Maggio 2006, 2007.
• (6) CASTELLANI, VITTORIO and GUZZARDI, GIANCALO: Graffiti preistorici nelle Grotta di Pastena. Memorie della XI Rassegna Speleologica Italiana, II, 57-60, 1974.
• (7) CERULEO, PIERO and ZEI, MARCELLO: La figura umana del Riparo Cristina (M. Ausoni - Latina) . Studi per l’Ecologia del Quaternario, 6, 125-127, 1984.
• (8) MATTIOLI, TOMMASO: L'arte rupestre del riparo sottoroccia di Grotti (Cittaducale, Rieti) . Quaderni di Protostoria, 3, 1-17, 2006
• (9) BROGLIO, ALBERTO and DALMIERI, GIAMPAOLO: Pitture paleolitiche nelle Prealpi venete (Vol. Numero Speciale), 2005
• (10) PETITTI, PATRIZIA et alii: Grotta Antica. Primi dati sul complesso archeologico. Daidalos. Studi e Ricerche del Dipartimento di Scienze del Mondo Antico, 10, 1-2, 2010
• (11) MATTIOLI, TOMMASO: Le pitture rupestri della grotta dell'Arco di Bellegra (Bellegra, Roma). Paper presented at the Atti del VI Convegno di Studio sul Lazio e la Sabina, Roma, 4-6 Marzo 2009, 2010.
• (12) MECCHIA, GIANNI et alii: Le grotte del Lazio: i fenomeni carsici, elementi della geodiversità . Roma: Edizioni ARP, 2003.
• (13) BUCCELLATO, CECILIA and TUSA, SEBASTIANO: Una nuova lettura delle pitture della Grotta di Cala dei Genovesi a Levanzo (Trapani). Preistoria Alpina, 46, 7-19, 2012.