The Filitosa, a long Corsican memory

We are in 1946. Charles-Antoine Cesari makes a very strange discovery by passing through the lands : he dicovers many statues-menhirs. Some years later, from 1954,systematic body searches are undertaken on this new archeological site and update several other statues broken or in"Torre" around which had been built a strenghtened town. It was the time of Neolithic... and Filitosa. It's definitely that this site represent a shorten impressive Corsican prehistory...

We are around 3000 before J.C. A man installed on the Island of Beauty since the Neolithic daybreak, but it's only this time when a new belief appears. This megalithic civilization will leave the countless monumental architecture traces in the south Corsica. The first megaliths are huge sculptures, rather rude and in the form of a chest. Little by little the megaliths begins taking a human form and face and finally they transfer into antropomorphe statue. Sometimes more realistic statues discovered on this continent.

In uneven landscape and as out of age of Filitosa, the vestiges of vast torren monument are next to the rocky screes little by little pervaded by an enduring vegetation and several remarkable statue-menhirs.

So that, in a little poetic way we can say that's true-may be "Filitosa IV" is today's most successful Neolithic sculptor expression .We also thinks that she represent land war; still adding the Corsicans raputation prompt to defend their island and their property against all foreign invaders...

Legends illustrations :

1 : The nicest Corsican statues-menhirs concentrate in Filitosa, in the south of the island.

2 : Artistically worked, This statue-menhir irrefutably took human form.

3 : Filitosa : some rocks screes, an intrusive nature and statue-menhir which stand in a landscape.

Text : Philippe CHAVANNE - Photos : Alice DELVAILLE

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