The Ranaldi Shelter and the first figurative expressions of man in Basilicata (Italy)

The Ranaldi Shelter at the Serra Pisconi site takes its name from its discoverer, Francesco Ranaldi, an archaeologist and director of the Potenza Provincial Archaeological Museum from 1954 to 1988. It is possible to reach the site within the Reserve via a comfortable path. An excellent open-air museum has been created, making access easy after a pleasant walk of about twenty minutes. The chronological and interpretive frame of the Ranaldi Shelter rock paintings follows two distinct paths: on one hand, we have a Mesolithic naturalistic depiction of a herd of deer in their wood, on the other, the most likely, a schematic Neolithic hunting scene with the persistence of more ancient traditions.