Prehistoric Corsica: The sculptures of Filitosa

[plavarda]

Photo 1: Menhir Filitosa V dates back to about 3,500 years ago

I have to be honest, I had other stops planned for the CAMERE D'ARIA tour in Corsica. It is very difficult to make changes, in life and also in travel, but after examining the route, its difficulties, the fact that I would have to lose a day even to recover the car, since the Corsican railways do not carry bicycles, that I would have I had to give up seeing interesting things, like the one I'm going to tell you about, and not least the awareness not to exaggerate because we are of a certain age, all these reasons added together led me to change the program. After dedicating a day to the recovery of the car in Bastia, with a train journey in the middle of the Corsican mountains, we leave Ajaccio for Portovecchio. It was going to be our last 3 stages on the bike, but I quickly realized I had made a good choice. Starting from Ajaccio, you also leave the sea and begin to climb, actually along roads with little traffic. It is a continuous ups and downs within Corsica, with steep slopes. Few houses, no village, only woods and the sea that can only be seen for some time, far away, when we are near Porto Pollo.

Photo 2: Filitosa : the hill of the tower with the source of water at its feet

Photo 3: The millenary olive tree with the menhirs arranged under its branches

Instead of taking the detour to the seaside resort, we take to Filitosa. A plain with slight undulations, cultivated, where the olive tree reigns supreme. The generosity of this land is well understood, which also becomes the cause of the archaeological discovery of Filitosa. It is in fact a farmer, who while working the land stumbles upon the first discovery and from there following, the searches of the archaeologists lead to the discovery of the statues that we can admire today. We park and, apart from a group that leaves by bus, a dozen cars in all, in such a large place there will certainly be no danger of stepping on your feet! The history of the place and its discovery is interesting. The owner of the land, Caesars, found the first stone warriors in 1946. His workers would like to make stones for the farm fence, but stated that he had never put any chains on any man and would not even put them in stone. Years pass and the discovery is attested by the young archaeologist Grosjan, who through numerous battles conducted together with his now friend Cesari, against bureaucracy and superstitions, manages to make Filitosa known as the fulcrum of human settlements in Corsica from about 6000 BC, up to advent of the Romans. Grosjan promised Cesari that nothing would move from Filitosa and he did. Against the bureaucracy Cesari took on all the costs of excavation and research, until the refusal, several years later, of a contribution of million francs by the Ministry of Culture, and still today the Cesari family is the local financier.

Photo 4: The hill of the tower and the houses of the prehistoric village dating back to 6000 BC.

Photo 5: A Torrean woman inside her tower 🙂

Photo 6: In my opinion the most significant artistically, the facial features are remarkable

After a few meters from the entrance, the first and most imposing of the warriors, Filitosa V. Sculpted around 1500/1100 BC. presents the face sculpted with helmet, sword and dagger, and on the back of the ornaments probably of the armor. Initially, towards the fourth millennium BC, Menhirs were carved which were later reworked in the shape of a statue, as we see them today, towards 1500.

 

Photo 7: Menhir in the central monument which in all probability was a celebratory altar

The Torreani, as this quite unknown people is called, arrived in Corsica defeating the pre-existing populations around 2000 BC. erecting towers. And in fact we also find them here in Filitosa, probably a sepulchral altar for an important person, with several menhirs.

Photo 8: The millenary olive tree with the menhirs arranged under its branches

Photo 9: Cri and the highest menhir under the millenary olive tree 

The area was and still is fantastic on a natural level. There are sources for obtaining water and lush plants. In the plain below, the statues found are lined up under a 3,000-year-old olive tree, the oldest in Corsica. It was probably a young plant and these stones were carved at its feet. Also visible is the quarry that was used to obtain the stones necessary for the execution of the works. Some strange shape, which I think is the work of nature rather than man, but with a little imagination, a lot, you can imagine that they also carved a dinosaur or a winged dragon!

Photo 10: Winged dragon or dinosaur? What do you think?

Photo 11: The two of us together with the tallest warrior

Photo 12: The two of us together with the lowest warrior

It is essential to conclude the visit in the new museum. Here you can better understand the history of Filitosa with illustrations in multiple languages ​​and with the finds of tools that better than other things, have contributed to the dating of use of the prehistoric site.

In Filitosa I am experiencing moments of absolute immersion in the past. Unlike other places, perhaps even more important, certainly better known, where I had good feelings of admiration for the ingenuity and constructive capacity of the time, remaining completely fascinated by them, here the feeling is different. I feel like a man in contact with other men from another era. I feel the palpitation of those statues as if they were in flesh and blood. I try to feel what it could mean for a man of that time, to walk in front of this statue and touch it like I am doing. Maybe they didn't hug her at that moment. Perhaps they kneel before the one with the evident phallic shape, the god of fertility? Who knows what they thought or did and who knows how they would laugh at me and at the experts who try to understand something of their life, perhaps for them it was a mechanical gesture, almost reflex, almost useless like those we do, and which our posterity will try to give an interpretation. I will never understand, but I enjoy this emotion admiring and embracing these stones.

Photo 13: The Museum

Photo 14: The Museum

Photo 15: The Museum

@DeniGu @PattyBlack  @ErmesT @TravellerG @Erna_LaBeau 

  @LuigiZ @davidhyno @renata1 @JaneBurunina @AntonellaGr  

@helga19 @mariacristinafossa 

[PattyBlack]

@plavarda posso dire che inizio inquietante? Il video intendo 😱 conta che ho su le cuffie a palla 😀 Per fortuna i sorrisi della tua Cri hanno dato una nota allegra 🌞 Sito molto interessante, per fortuna avete inserito questa tappa nel vostro viaggio arricchendo così il vostro bagaglio di conoscenza e il nostro di conseguenza 🙏 La foto 9 è estremamente spiritosa, quella dell'ulivo è fantastica, per la foto 10 direi un drago ma è una scelta di cuore perché io adoro i draghi! L'ingresso è gratuito? Sembra di aver visto un pó di stato di abbandono in alcuni punti.. È sempre una sensazione indescrivibile calpestare certi luoghi, percepire delle emozioni che arrivano dal passato. 

Grazie!  Ben fatto ragazzi! E continua a raccontare mi raccomando!!

Un abbraccio 

[plavarda]

@PattyBlack voleva essere un riferimento al film 2001 Odissea nello spazio, una musica trionfante di introduzione, come lo è nell'opera di Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra 🙂 Mi sa che mi sono montato la testa 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂  A parte gli scherzi volevo far impressione, e l'ho fatta a quanto pare. Ci mancava solo lo scimmione che spacca le ossa del mammuth ed ero apposto!!! Comunque anch'io opto per il drago!!! Comunque posto unico! MI sa che ne cercherò altri, perchè in giro per il mondo ce ne sono molti ed hanno una energia tutta speciale. Grazie Patrizia, prossimo racconto Bonifacio a breve!

Un bacione

Paolo

[PattyBlack]

😄😄 si hai impressionato @plavarda ma in senso buono ovviamente. Il video è fantastico e la musica è azzeccatissima solo che non me l'aspettavo!  

Ciao Paolo grazie per la tua spiritosaggine ci tieni allegri! Racconto successivo letto! Sono rimasta letteralmente sbaccalita sia dalla bellezza del posto che dalla storia. Ne hai ancora da raccontare vero? 🙂🙂🙏 

Un bacione a te! 

Ciaoo 

[Erna_LaBeau]

There are giant sculpture, Paolo @plavarda I like the way you have Cri in opening the video. Good job Cri!

[plavarda]

dearest @Erna_LaBeau and @PattyBlack  life is more beautiful when your partner is also complicit in what you do. Traveling, joking, making dreams come true, living, everything becomes possible if there is complicity between two lovers! Do not you think?

A kiss

Paolo

[TravellerG]

Wow...

The intro scene... Cri walking in with the background music... Excellent!

6000, 3000, 2000, 1500 years' stories - mind blowing.

Congratulations, dear friend @plavarda. 

Excellent photos... 👍👍👍♥️

This post is very specific.

Thanks for sharing this.

The video I have commented in the YouTube.

Best wishes

PS :

Greetings to Cri too.

🙏💐

[plavarda]

@TravellerG dearest, the contact with those stones was very exciting, I felt those living stones, as if those statues were breathing, as if they had absorbed the breath of the men who carved them. A wonderful feeling.

A hug

Paolo

[TravellerG]

"... as if they had absorbed the breath of the men who carved them..."

I agree with you... My dear friend @plavarda

💐

[Ahmed_Alamin1234]

Ooh , the old civilizations mostly made this symbols according to their vision which formed denending on some legends descentant from their old generations until reach to eave and Adam, this symbols shows or description to the spiritual life or the other life after they put the dead bodies or description to the future of the life and the planet,,,

This time 3500 mostly the same time of the Pharos, but you know what , I think Mayan and tept and tasiley were older ,

I like your show my dear ,

Personly now almost became sure you old fan at the legends and your wife too , is she ?  🙂 Thanks for your share 👍