Excursions > Excursions

Two parallel excursions will take place on Wednesday 17th September 2025. The destinations include some of the most important Mesolithic sites of the Southern Italian Alps and key sequences for Southern Europe, as well as the Museums exhibiting Mesolithic findings from those and other localities:

1)  MUSE - Trento Science Museum + Gaban rockshelter (Trentino)

2)  Mondeval de Sora Mesolithic burial at Museum “Vittorino Cazzetta” + Passo Giau mountain area (Venetian Dolomites).

Alternatively, those who prefer to stay in Ferrara can join a 2-hour guided city tour.

Costs: an additional contribution of 25€ is requested to join the excursions. It will help us to partially cover the transport costs. Our excursion co-organisers (MUSE- Trento Science Museum and the municipality of Selva di Cadore, hosting Museum “V. Cazzetta”) will offer lunch to all participants. There are no additional costs for the guided tour in Ferrara. 

Reservation: places for each excursion and the guided tour are limited. Please email us (meso2025@unife.it) to book your place at your earliest convenience and, in any case, before the 15th of July 2025.

Excursion 1: MUSE - Trento Science Museum and Gaban Rockshelter

The history of the discovery of the Mesolithic in Northern Italy is bound with Trento and the Adige Valley. The excavations conducted here in the past century brought to light key sequences of the Mesolithic period in Italy, such as those from Romagnano Loc III, Pradestel, Vatte di Zambana and Riparo Gaban sites. The essential findings yielded by these sites - among which lithic and bone tools for hunting and fishing, pieces of portable art, and burials - contributed significantly to defining one of the best-known Mesolithic territories in Europe. During this excursion we will guide you to the MUSE - Trento Science Museum, which hosts the remains of the major regional sites from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods together with sections dedicated to natural environment evolution. We will also visit Gaban Rockshelter, a site that records fundamental evidence for the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Adige Valley, displaying an exceptional stratigraphic sequence. Excavations in the site are still in progress under the direction of Trento University and the visit to the site will be guided by our colleagues from Trento University.

Preliminary schedule: 

• h. 7.00: departure from Ferrara city centre (meeting at 6:40; you will receive updates about the exact location further on). Carry with you all you need for a one-day excursion (water, snacks, suitable clothing in case of wind or rain and comfortable outdoor shoes ). 

• h. 10:15: arrival in Trento. We will split into two groups: one will visit MUSE, the other will proceed to Gaban rockshelter (15’ bus)

• h. 12:30-13.00: lunch at MUSE (included),

• h. 13:30-14.00: the group that visited MUSE will move to Gaban rockshelter and the other one will visit the museum.

• h. 16:30 departure from Trento

• h. 19:30 approximate time of arrival in Ferrara. 

Excursion 2: Mondeval de Sora Mesolithic burial at Museum “Vittorino Cazzetta” (Selva di Cadore) and Passo Giau mountain area

The site and burial of Mondeval de Sora represent two of the most important Mesolithic discoveries in Europe: the Early Mesolithic occupation of the site is a great example of a high-altitude residential camp, while the Late Mesolithic burial goods found together with the remains of a 35-40 years old man are an invaluable snapshot of hunter-gatherers’ life through death. During this excursion, we will guide you through the discovery of Mondeval’s man and his territory. We will admire the original remains of the burial, together with other findings of the Alpine Mesolithic, at the “Vittorino Cazzetta” Museum in Selva di Cadore. Moreover, a field excursion will bring you to Passo Giau, one of the most important (and breathtaking) mountain passes of the Dolomites. From here, it will be possible to admire a landscape filled with history and countless Mesolithic frequentations. After a brief walk, we will reach one of these, Pra’ Comun 1 rockshelter. The site, currently under excavation by the University of Ferrara, is a temporary campsite occupied at the beginning of the Holocene.

Preliminary schedule:

• h. 6.30: departure from Ferrara city centre (meeting at 6:10; you will receive updates about the exact location further on). NOTE: the excursion includes a field-trip in a high altitude environment. For this reason, be sure to carry with you all the necessary equipment including: bottle of water, waterproof jacket, warm clothes, trekking shoes. The planned walk is short (15’-20’) and easy but the terrain, although almost flat, may be harsh and slippery.

• h. 11:00: separate arrivals in Selva di Cadore/Passo Giau. Visit to the Museum and the area of Giau Pass and Pra’ Comun site.

• h. 13:00-13.30: lunch at Selva di Cadore museum (included)

• h. 14:00-14:30: the group that visited the museum will move to Passo Giau and Pra’ Comun site and the other one will visit the museum.

• h. 16:30: separate departures from Selva di Cadore/Passo Giau. 

• h. 21:00 approximate time of arrival in Ferrara.