The Grotta di Fumane contains what are currently considered the oldest figurative artworks in Italy — painted fragments of animal and human-animal hybrid figures from the Aurignacian period, approximately 35,000–36,000 years before present, found during systematic excavation begun in 1988. Below these modern human layers: stratified Neanderthal occupation, one of the clearest succession records in the Italian peninsula. Above the cave: Valpolicella Classico vineyards producing Amarone. The cave is accessible by guided visit only, with advance reservation required. The originals are in the Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona; the cave shows the excavation context and the stratified story of 40,000 years of human presence in the same limestone hollow. Verona guide →
Verona → Plan my Verona trip →Location: Fumane, Valpolicella (province of Verona, Veneto) | Age of finds: 32,000–42,000 years BP | Famous for: Oldest figurative art in Italy (Aurignacian painted fragments), Neanderthal and modern human stratified deposits | Visits: Guided only, reservations required | Distance from Verona: 20 km | Entry: €8–12
The Grotta di Fumane is a limestone cave on the southern flank of the Lessini plateau above the Valpolicella wine zone, 20 kilometres northwest of Verona. It contains what are currently considered the oldest figurative artworks in Italy — painted fragments from the Aurignacian cultural period (the first anatomically modern humans in Europe) dating to approximately 32,000–36,000 years before present. The fragments, recovered from the cave floor deposits during systematic excavation begun in 1988, include painted animal figures and a human-animal hybrid figure on small limestone slabs, interpreted as portable art objects or architectural decoration of the cave space.
The cave has a stratigraphic sequence of exceptional quality — meaning the layers of occupation debris accumulated without major disturbance over tens of thousands of years, allowing archaeologists to read the human (and pre-human) presence in the cave like pages in a book. The lower levels contain Neanderthal occupation evidence (Mousterian stone tools, animal bones with cut marks from butchering); above these, the transitional Uluzzian industry; and then the early modern human Aurignacian layers with the painted fragments. The coexistence and succession of Neanderthal and modern human populations in the same cave system over the same terrain is one of the central questions of European prehistory, and Fumane is one of the key sites for understanding it.
The Fumane figurative fragments were found in the Aurignacian layer (approximately 35,000–36,000 BP) during the systematic sieving of the cave floor deposits. The most significant piece shows a human figure with an animal head — a therianthrope (human-animal hybrid), which appears in contemporaneous cave art at Chauvet in France and at El Castillo in Spain. The presence of this type of figure at Fumane establishes that the symbolic capacity expressed at the famous French and Spanish cave art sites was geographically distributed across Europe's early modern human populations, not concentrated in a single artistic centre.
The animal figures on the Fumane fragments include what appears to be a bovid (aurochs or bison) and possibly a cervid (deer). The paint medium is red ochre (iron oxide), applied by smearing or with a simple tool. The fragments are small (10–15 cm) and appear to have been parts of larger compositions; the portions missing from the fragments have never been found, suggesting the decorated surfaces were broken and selected pieces carried away from the cave — possibly as symbolic objects.
The originals are not in the cave but in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona and the Museo di Storia Naturale of Verona. The cave itself shows the excavation site context.
The Grotta di Fumane is in the Fumane valley of the Valpolicella — the wine production zone north of Verona responsible for Amarone della Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Valpolicella Classico. The specific wines of the valley directly around Fumane are classified as Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC and Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, from Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes grown on the terraced hillside vineyards that descend from the Lessini plateau to the Adige valley.
The contrast between the prehistoric cave system and the Renaissance wine culture of the valley is one of the most extreme available in Italian tourism: you can visit the Grotta di Fumane in the morning (40,000-year-old art) and spend the afternoon tasting Amarone at Allegrini, Bertani, or Masi estates (all within 10–15 km). The Fumane municipality has several wine estates with tasting rooms.
Reservations required: The Grotta di Fumane is only accessible on guided visits, which must be booked in advance through the Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona or directly through the Fumane commune website. Opening periods are typically spring and autumn weekends, with some summer dates; the cave is closed in winter and in summer peak heat (the interior temperature is 13°C year-round — bring a layer regardless of outside temperature). Entry: approximately €8–12 per person. By car from Verona: 20 km, 25 minutes via the SS12 north toward Bosco Churazzone and then the Fumane valley road. Combine with: A Valpolicella wine tasting at one of the valley estates, the Romanesque church of San Giorgio di Valpolicella (one of the most important pre-Romanesque churches in the Veneto, 8th century, with an intact cloister), and Verona itself. Verona guide →
The Grotta di Fumane is a limestone cave in the Valpolicella hills above Verona, containing what are currently considered the oldest figurative artworks in Italy — painted fragments of animal and human-animal hybrid figures from the Aurignacian period (approximately 35,000–36,000 years before present). The cave also has stratified Neanderthal occupation layers below the modern human levels. Excavation began in 1988; the painted fragments are now in the Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona. The cave is accessible by guided visit only, with advance reservation required.
The oldest figurative artworks found at the Grotta di Fumane are painted limestone fragments from the Aurignacian cultural layer, dating to approximately 35,000–36,000 years before present. They include an animal figure (bovid or cervid), painted in red ochre, and a therianthrope (human figure with animal head) comparable to contemporaneous figures at Chauvet Cave in France. These make the Fumane fragments the oldest known examples of figurative art in Italy, establishing that the symbolic capacity expressed in the famous Franco-Cantabrian cave art tradition was geographically widespread across early modern human populations in Europe.
The Grotta di Fumane requires advance reservation for guided visits — it is not accessible as a walk-in attraction. Book through the Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona (museostorianaturaleverona.it) or the Fumane commune website. Visit periods are typically spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October) weekends, with some summer dates. Entry is approximately €8–12 per person. The cave interior is 13°C year-round — bring a jacket or layer regardless of outside temperature. The cave is 20 km from Verona; a car is required (no public transport to the cave).
The Grotta di Fumane contains stratified Neanderthal occupation evidence in its lower levels — Mousterian stone tools and animal bones with butchering cut marks, predating the modern human (Aurignacian) layers above. The stratigraphic sequence is one of the clearest in the Italian peninsula for documenting the succession of Neanderthal and modern human populations in the same cave site. This succession (Neanderthal below, transitional Uluzzian intermediate, modern human Aurignacian above) is central to understanding the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in Europe between approximately 40,000 and 30,000 years ago. Fumane is one of the key Italian sites in this debate.
The Grotta di Fumane is in the Fumane valley of the Valpolicella Classico zone, the core production area for Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Amarone della Valpolicella. Valpolicella Classico DOC (fresh red, Corvina-dominant), Valpolicella Ripasso DOC (refermented on Amarone grape skins, richer), and Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG (from dried/appassimento grapes, concentrated and powerful, aged minimum 2 years) are all produced within 5–15 km of the cave. Major estates accessible from the Fumane valley: Allegrini (Fumane), Masi (San Pietro in Cariano), Bertani (Negrar). Most offer visits and tastings by appointment.
No. The original painted fragments from the Grotta di Fumane are not displayed in the cave; they are in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, where they can be seen in the prehistoric collection. The cave visit shows the excavation site — the stratigraphic layers, the ongoing archaeological work (the site is still being excavated), and the spatial context of where the fragments were found. The guided visit explains the significance of the finds and the archaeological methodology. For visitors wanting to see the actual painted fragments, the Verona natural history museum is the destination.
The Church of San Giorgio di Valpolicella (also called the Pieve di San Giorgio) is one of the most important early medieval churches in the Veneto, situated on a hilltop above San Pietro in Cariano, 8 km from Fumane. The current structure dates primarily to the 8th century, with earlier elements; it has a complete Romanesque cloister (one of the best-preserved in the Verona area), an early medieval baptistery with a hexagonal font, and carved stone decoration that shows the transition from late Roman to Lombard-Carolingian artistic traditions. Entry is free or by small donation. The combination of prehistoric cave (Fumane), early medieval church (San Giorgio), and Amarone wine tasting makes the Valpolicella a full cultural day from Verona.
The Grotta di Fumane is worth visiting for anyone with serious interest in prehistoric art, early human history, or Neanderthal-modern human interaction. The site requires advance planning (booking, car, scheduling within the limited visiting periods) and rewards visitors who come prepared with some background knowledge — the guided visit provides context but the site is austere. For casual tourists visiting Verona, the Museo di Storia Naturale in Verona (holding the actual painted fragments) may be a more accessible starting point. For prehistory enthusiasts, Fumane is one of the most significant sites accessible in northern Italy and genuinely worth the logistical effort.
Grotta di Fumane + San Giorgio church + Amarone tasting + Verona — 40,000 years of human history in one valley.
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