Archaeological Park of Cava d’Ispica, Modica

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