Cava d'Ispica

The territory of the iblei is rich in valleys carved by the water, they are called quarries. One of the most famous is undoubtedly the Cava d'Ispica, crossed by the small stream Pernazzoni, extends for 13 km within the territories of Modica and Ispica. The northern sector, in the initial part of the quarry, in the districts Serrapero e Baravitalla is located in the territory of Modica and housed the ancient medieval town of Isbarha, going down the quarry narrows forming a bottleneck characterized by two rocky spurs that protrude from the plateaus above: the Clash (to the East) and the Poggio Saltpetre (West). Going down south, the quarry widens and two short lateral quarries converge in it: the "Mortella quarry" and the "Valley of the Barrier". Following a narrow and long rocky column called the "Force”Near Ispica and which formed the central part of the ancient late medieval town of Breaker abandoned after the earthquake of 1693. Walking through the quarry you will find traces of housing that cover various periods: the Early Bronze Age (XX-XV century BC), protohistoric period (X century BC), late Sicilian period (VII-VI century. BC), Greek (VI-III century BC), and gradually affecting the late Roman and Byzantine periods, ending almost to our days.

Given the vast size of the quarry, we have divided the tourist itinerary into three parts. For a detailed description and geolocation of the individual monuments, see database 3.0 also reachable from the side menu.

XNUMXst Itinerary: Contrada di Baravitalla and Cava d'Ispica Nord