Parco archeologico di Cava d’Ispica, Modica

The Ispica Quarry is a narrow valley that extends from NW to SE for about 14 km in the territory of the municipalities of Modica, Ispica and, partly, Rosolini, and crossed by a small watercourse called Pernamazzoni in the upper part and Busaitone in the lower part. The valley constitutes one of the largest naturalistic-archaeological complexes in Sicily thanks to its complex and varied stratigraphy that extends from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages with an extraordinary settlement continuity that knows no breaks over the centuries. Although it is a very fascinating landscape place, the greatest interest lies in the dense and continuous traces of human presence: these include necropolises, from Siculian oven tombs to classical ones, from Byzantine hypogea to Christian catacombs, and rock settlements, from prehistoric caves to medieval troglodyte ones. The visit to Cava d’Ispica consists of two parts: the north-east part, near the Mulino Cavallo; the south-east part, a rock site of ancient Spaccaforno (ancient name of Ispica).