Calabria, Italy. Mysterious places

ALTOMONTE (CS)

Calabria

Of here it passed the brave one Hemming

Hemming was a brave rider of Charles Magno, settled of the legendary one “Chanson de Roland” (taken back then by Ludovico Ariosto). it Seems that this place has acquired the name proper from Altomonte, murderous Saracen of his/her/their father Milone, killed by Hemming, while, to drink to a source, the helmet removed from him. It was the first brave action of Hemming. It seems that this source exists today still and is called Spring of the Aspromonte, considered sacred, because thanks to it the zone was freed by the invaders. This episode has been brought as really done historical happened in the town files of Altomonte, that you deal with legend or less, who knows…

BELL (CS) - THE GIANTS OF STONE ANCIENT SCULPTURES OR NATURAL PHENOMENONS?

Near the Bell Fossiata (CS) there are two very curious rocks because they recall some forms indentificabili with an elephant and a sat man. Sculptures or casualness geologiche? The discovery has been served in December of 2002 as a young architect of Cosenza, Domenico Canino, while it was being in that zone to the search of everything other type of finds. Following amount carried over to comparison two very interesting theories, her before Domenico Canino and the second of Carmine F.Petrungaro.

Domenico's Canino theory A prehistoric sculpture? This territory, thanks to the recovery of many archaeological finds, you/he/she was intensely populated since the age of the Iron. Walking for his/her lawns is impossible not to stay himself/herself/themselves in front of two monoliths of notable dimension, distant among them around three meters. To a first impression they seem graven because introduces features that recall known figures. The first one represents an elephant of five meters high, that could also resemble to a prehistoric mammuth.

The other one would represent up to the knees, two legs human sessions, the rest of a hypothetical figure human disappearance. There are perhaps around different pebbles coming from the same statues. Under the monoliths it is possible to see two small caves, there present for a long time, the farmers' shelter from the bad weather. The elephant is the sculpture simplest identification. The bending of the legs does her/it seem in movement and they detaches from the figure eyes, trunk and fangs. These last, having downward direction, you/they could point out the animal as ELEPHANS ANTIQUUS, extinct however already dodicimila years ago. The same measures compared from Canine they are very near to those of the fossils of this kind of found again mammuth really in these zones and precisely in the neighborhood of D'Arco Of REGGIO Calabria.

The second statue, that we remember represents two legs up to the knee, it is tall six meters and, if indeed it had to be a sat man, you/he/she would have been indeed overall a gigantic figure. The position remembers a lot the statues of Memmone to Tebe and those of Ramses II in the façade of the Temple of Abu Simbel in Egypt.

The doubt stays, above all because the statues are so corroded by to be able fruit of a joke of the nature to have been, even if observing her, the figures are perceived in so clear way by not to be able to believe that water, wind and snow have succeeded in creating so perfect works. Besides it is to remember well that if they were of human nature, they would be among the greatest sculptures in Europe.

The map of the "Magini"

To this point Domenico Canino, strong of his/her convictions, definite to seek a possible presence of these colossuses in some document of the past. Being very great works thought about consulting ancient geographical papers. And in fact on the map of the 1606 of Calabria Citra of Giovanni Anthony MAGINI, found marked a conformation in that same point denominated “the Giant's Horn”. This test would point out without shade of doubt that the statues were known four hundred years ago. It needs to specify that the Map of the Magini was very famous and you/he/she was used in Europe. The strange case was that Giovanni Magini never came in Calabria! This would subsequently point out that its maps were recopied by preexisting maps, probably according to the PROF. ILARIO Principe, from parchment Aragonese of 1470-1515 (also says from the PROF. I mark IULIANO). Unfortunately however to today these maps miss it really the zone of Sila. Done it is that the following maps were a lot of that that point they pointed out as “the Giant's Clash” up to 1827 when, subsequently to an earthquake, names disappeared and probably statues.

But however after these studies the tests that are really statues increase. But as they were before the earthquake? Who had to represent? Does someone that would have her in the past accidentally drawn exist?

THEORY OF CARMINE F. PETRUNGARO

Pirro and the Indian elephants Other interesting hypotheses exist from CARMINE F. PETRUNGARO that he/she would not see the statues of prehistoric origin, but more neighbors to our civilization. According to his/her studies it is difficult that is a sculpture of a mammuth, since when the great mammals were pushed until in our continent, the glaciation was already in is advanced and therefore the primitives would not have had motive to undertake himself/herself/themselves in such an extraordinary work. Besides Petrungaro has known how to find a new interpretation of the statue that would put her/it to the period of the invasions of Pirro, that for first it brought the elephants in Italy.

This general had inherited the technique of the "war elephants" from the armies of the Diadochis and from the dynasty seleucide, founded by Seleuco I, general of Alexander the Great one. According to Petrungaro the elephant would have semblances "Indian", with small ears, wide head and almost vertical fangs. The king Pirro disembarked in Puglia in the 281 a.C. with 26.000 men and 26 Indian elephants from fight. The Romans that saw these great mammals for the first time, were frightened of it but also spellbound to the point that they called them "the great oxen lucani."

The first clash happened near Eraclea, where Pirro had the best even if with big losses. Then it passed in Calabria in the 278 a.C. to oppose the Carthaginian allies with the Romans. It again won king of the whole Sicily naming himself/herself/itself beating coin with his/her own name. To this point the motivation of the stuatues as authentic homage could be hypothesized to Pirro "the liberator". Two statues megalitiche that you/they remembered the great king but also that strange almost divine animals that our ancient people had had the opportunity of meeting, cosìcchè, returned once in their earth, you/they were never forgotten.

Those of Canine tooth and of Petrungaro are two very different visions and both interesting that open the mind towards these unique finds in their kind. Until further searches you/they won't be effected on the field that discovers necklaces or coins that can date the statues, seize even there to the hypotheses of these two impassioned researchers that you/they have known how to give worthy explanations of what it is to us incomprehensible.

To conclude amount carried over a thought of Petrungaro that is indeed to my very beautiful notice: "Him "Ancient" and enough? Someone who knew the history was already place of the questions in the departed decades, but derides or not listened by the people that it sustained and it sustains today still that, it concerned only rocks carved from the wind and from the water piovana. The times were not yet you mature. That elephant was there always to wait for the day of his/her ransom. Meanwhile the administrations continued to ignore him/it, as you/they have always done for the by now usual habit, to ignore what it is dear to the city campanese and, the best example can be observed him/it in the historical center greco/normanno and in the Cavesea... the hope stays in the young people that on wide staircase you/they are already giving sign to react to political, social and cultural level."

SCALEA (CS) - SANCTUARY OF S.MARIA DI THE LAUREL SAVED BY THE WATERS

In the '600 happened that some sailors were caught in the act by a violent storm, so strongly that he/she didn't remain him but the Madonna of the Laurel to pray, native of Destination of Sorrento, the place from which you/they originated. Here that raced in them help appeasing the waters and miraculously saving them on the coast of Scalea. To thank Maria of the happy event, brought whereas you/they were saved a statue of the Madonna of the Laurel. Today the statue is preserved inside the Sanctuary and the event you/he/she is still celebrated on September 8. The element of this place is: THE WATER

SCALEA (CS) - TOWER MERCILESS TALAO UN LEGISLATORE THE MORE BATTLE' BLOODTHIRSTY OF THE ANTIQUITY'

At the beginning Tower Scion was an island and you/he/she was built in the XVI century as it systematizes defensive towards the attacks of the Turks. Once was constituted from 337 towers! There are some said caves of the "rock-cliff", inhabited once (30.000 a.Cs.) from the prehistoric man.

A legislator spietato La legend of this place concerns characters of the Enea and the odyssey, of here they passed in fact Enea and Ulisse.

Here it died besides Draconte, friend and adviser of the king of Itaca, Ulisse, as well as merciless legislator of the same Athens. In fact also founded the death penalty for light crimes and every debtor that had not succeeded in extinguishing an any loan became some his/her own creditor enslaved! The most bloodthirsty battle of the antiquity In this place there was a famous prediction of an oracle that said "Near Draconte Laio a lot of people will be for perishing" and so it happened. In the 389 a.C. is fought in this lowland, the bloodiest battle of the antiquity among Lucani and Greek of Thuri, that sees the death of well 10.000 people! The Greek, tired of the continuous raids of the Lucanis, decideso to do ended her/it attaching them in the them same territory, Laos, but they were them to go out defeats of it, it was a real slaughter.