The Camunian Rose (Rosa Camuna) is an ancient, mysterious symbol that is found over and over again throughout the Val Camonica—a valley in the Italian Alps that holds one of the largest collections of iron age petroglyphs in the world and is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Franco Gaudiano has spent much of the past 15 years hiking this area, studying the unique abundance of rock carving and the Rosa Camuna in particular. The petroglyph is composed of nine dots in three rows of three, circled by a four-lobed "flower" shape; it is the most prominent of the ancient designs in the Val Camonica and has been found in other archeological sites scattered around the world. The symbol appears to have strong archetypal meaning, and has been associated with good-fortune rituals among people of the Alps.
Come discover a different part of Italy, off the beaten track - a part that most tourists don’t see, from a time when the earliest human settlements were appearing in Italy, long before “la dolce vita”. The presentation includes the audience in a drawing of the Rosa Comuna—recreating the act of the Camunian iron age people and perhaps finding meaning in the process.
Franco Gaudiano holds an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has taught Creative Writing in Rome, Milan and L’Aquila. He resides in the Val Camonica and leads walking tours of the various iron age sites found throughout the area.
This presentation will be held at:
Grimaldi's Coffee House | Gilman Village
317 NW Gilman Blvd #47, Issaquah, WA 98027
(425) 427-8161 | www.grimaldiscoffee.com