Rock Engraving Park of Grosio

The Rock Engraving Park (Parco delle Incisioni Rupestri) is an archaeological and natural park located in the Valtellina valley of Lombardy, northern Italy, spanning the municipalities of Grosio and Grosotto in the Province of Sondrio. Centered on the Dosso dei Castelli, the park preserves a dense concentration of cultural heritage spanning from prehistory to the medieval period. Its primary significance lies in the Rupe Magna, the largest engraved rock in the Alpine range, which bears over 5,000 petroglyphs dating from the 4th to the 1st millennium BC. The site also encompasses two medieval castles and historic agricultural terraces, integrating archaeology, architecture, and landscape into a unified open-air museum.

The park's origins trace to 1966, when Italian archaeologist Davide Pace discovered the petroglyphs on the Rupe Magna, followed by his identification of additional engravings on the nearby Dosso Giroldo in 1967. Pace conducted initial recordings through the 1970s. In 1978, the park was officially established following the donation of the land and medieval ruins by the Marquess Margherita Pallavicino Mossi Visconti Venosta, with the aim of conserving and developing the heritage of the Dosso dei Castelli. A major scientific research project between 1991 and 1995 fully mapped and documented the Rupe Magna, and archaeological excavations in 1995 confirmed the presence of protohistoric settlements on the hill. While the official corpus founding date is 1978, a Wikidata entry cites an inception date of July 17, 1984.

The park's holdings encompass prehistoric rock art, medieval architectural ruins, and a cultural agricultural landscape. The core of the collection is the extensive petroglyph assemblage on the Rupe Magna, created using hammering and line engraving techniques. The engravings thematically span human figures, including orants, armed warriors, and wrestlers, alongside animals, geometric shapes, cup-marks, rakes, and crosses. The chronological scope ranges from the late Neolithic and Copper Age through the Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age, with some Christian crosses indicating the practice continued into the historical era. Complementing the rock art, the park features the architectural remains of two castles and an associated chapel, plus a traditional dry-stone terraced viticultural landscape. A small excavation museum, the Antiquarium located in the Ca del Cap, displays artifacts from the Bronze and Iron Age settlements excavated on the Dosso dei Castelli and Dosso Giroldo.

The most significant holding is the Rupe Magna, a dark grey phyllite rock with quartzite lenses, shaped into a characteristic smooth form by Valtellina glacier action. Measuring 84 meters in length and 35 meters in width, it contains over 5,000 documented petroglyphs. Among the notable engravings is a warrior figure bearing a round shield and a stick-like sword, which serves as the park's symbol. Another prominent group, termed Oranti Saltici (jumping adorants) by Pace, consists of three pairs of anthropomorphic figures approximately 80 centimeters tall, dated to the end of the Bronze Age (12th to 10th century BC). Their limbs are held symmetrically at 90-degree angles, suggesting a musical round or a ritual weapon dance. The medieval holdings include the Castello Vecchio, featuring a Romanesque church spire and rock-cut double tombs from the 7th or 8th century, and the Castello Nuovo, a 14th-century stronghold with a double defensive wall and a fortified internal tower.

The park is situated on the Dosso dei Castelli, a hill positioned between the Adda Valley and the Roasco River at the entrance to the Grosina Valley. The site is dominated by two castles. The Castello Vecchio, or Castle of San Faustino, constructed around the late 10th or early 11th century, follows the western end of the hilltop and functioned primarily as a symbol of power for the Bishop of Como rather than a military fortress. Its chapel, dedicated to Saints Faustino and Jovita, was built over rock-cut tombs. The Castello Nuovo, built between 1350 and 1375 under the Visconti family, was designed as a strategic stronghold with a double ring of walls, a keep, and a moat at its northern end. The southern side drops steeply down the hillside. The surrounding slopes are covered by traditional dry-stone terraces, likely built after the year 1200, which characterize the local viticultural landscape. The broader environmental setting includes centuries-old chestnut trees and a nearby riparian forest.

The park is located at Via San Faustino in Grosio. It is managed by the Consorzio Turistico Media Valtellina, which succeeded a previous consortium of local entities including the municipalities of Grosio and Grosotto, the Province of Sondrio, and the Comunita Montana di Tirano. The consortium works in close collaboration with the Soprintendenza archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio for the provinces of Como, Lecco, Monza, Brianza, Pavia, Sondrio, and Varese. The park is open seasonally from April to October, Tuesday through Sunday, with winter openings on weekends and holidays. Admission is 6 euros for adults, 3 euros for youth aged 11 to 17, and free for children up to 10 years. Guided tours of the Rupe Magna are available. Free parking is accessible near the A2A power plant, and the nearest bus stops require a 10 to 15 minute walk. Since 2013, the Fondazione Fojanini has maintained the terraces, cultivating white grape varieties including Muscaris, Johanniter, Aromera, Bronner, and Sauvigner Gris, yielding the first wine production in 2017.