Rivano Museum Unveils Prehistoric Cult Practices Exhibition, Featuring 500 Artifacts

Almost a preview of what will soon become the permanent archaeological section of the Museo Civico rivano. It opens on Saturday, with an inauguration at 11 am in Rocca, for the exhibition “Cult Practices in Prehistory of the Alps”, a collection of artifacts and documents entirely dedicated to prehistoric civilization along the Alpine arc.

The exhibition has already had other stops in Italy and in countries bordering the Alps, and now it comes to Riva in a revised and corrected version to better reflect the historical and archaeological reality of our region.

Approximately 500 artifacts on display come from eighteen museums across Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Italy. Interest in our archaeological heritage is significant and has grown over recent years thanks to new excavation campaigns such as the one at Monte S. Martino, between Campi and Pranzo, where what experts still consider the largest Retic-Roman citadel in the Alps is preserved.

The exhibition offers an ideal journey exploring the ideological, religious, and cultic aspects of populations from the late Bronze Age to the Romanization (1st century BC).

Objects and symbolism of ancient religion

Votive objects, images, reconstructions of places of worship, and the few (and therefore precious) Retic and Venetian inscriptions are “the keys” through which archaeology attempts to penetrate the immaterial sphere of the lives of men and women who left no written records of themselves or their views on the earthly and afterlife worlds.

The typical forms of cults in votive sites tied to peaks, water, and fire are identified, immediately revealing a connection to an environment that was not easy to dominate.

Expansion and activities of the exhibition

The Rivano edition of the exhibition has been expanded to further highlight Trentino’s artifacts, particularly local finds: from the exceptional discoveries of the Arco stele statues to artifacts from S. Martino.

The Museum also organizes other side events: educational activities for children, guided tours, a series of lectures for the summer. Meanwhile, excavations will restart at S. Martino.