GUIDED TOURS TO CAMONICA VALLEY

The Camonica Valley stretches for 56 miles, from the mountains with popular ski resorts as for example Aprica, Ponte di Legno and Passo del Tonale to the charming landscape of Lake Iseo. This area hides all kinds of treasures, so get ready to be surprised!

Hundreds of thousands of rock engravings all over the valley are the legacy of a prehistoric population called the Camuni. In Cividate Camuno and in Breno you can visit extraordinary ancient sites, like a Roman theatre and amphitheatre and the mysterious temple dedicated to Minerva. Some religious buildings should not be missed: from parish churches frescoed by great artists like Girolamo Romanino and Pietro da Cemmo to Romanesque treasures like the church of San Siro and the monastery of San Salvatore. Worth visiting is the medieval village of Bienno, in the club of “the most beautiful villages in Italy”. In Bienno, you can visit a 17th-century forge that still uses water-driven hammers, showing the tradition of the “ferrarezze”, the art of iron forging. In Cerveno, you will admire the masterpiece of the wooden art of Camonica Valley: it is the work of Beniamo Simoni (local wood carver, 1712-1787), who carved 198 life-size statues representing the episode of the Way of the Cross.

Tasting the products of the valley will allow you to fully experience this area: in one of the many agritrurismo (farmhouse restaurants) you will taste delicious local food and learn about the traditional activities of the Camonica Valley.

1 – The Camuni: rock engravings in Naquane and Bienno “the Village of the Hammers” and of “ferrarezze”

WHAT YOU WILL SEE

In Capo di Ponte

• Rock engravings National Park of Naquane

In Bienno

• The village
• The 17th-century forge with water-driven hammers
• The 15th-century mill
• The church of Santa Maria Annunciata with frescoes by Romanino and Pietro da Cemmo

LENGTH: FULL DAY

2 – The great art of the Camonica Valley: Beniamino Simoni, Romanino and Pietro da Cemmo

WHAT YOU WILL SEE

In Pisogne

• The church of Santa Maria della Neve and frescoes by Romanino

In Esine

• The church of Santa Maria Assunta and frescoes by Pietro da Cemmo

In Cerveno

• The sanctuary of the Way of the Cross by Beniamino Simoni

LENGTH: FULL DAY

3 – The charm of Camonica Valley from the Romans to the Middle Ages

WHAT YOU WILL SEE

In Cividate Camuno

• Remains of Roman theatre and amphitheatre
• The archaeological museum

In Capo di Ponte,

• Pieve di S. Siro, romanica
• Chiesa monasteriale di S. Salvatore, romanica

LENGTH: FULL DAY

To arrange these guided tours with any other destination in the Camonica Valley or in the province of Brescia, please contact us.