Megalithic sites in Italy
On Italian territory there are gigantic megalithic walls and polygonal structures made with enormous blocks, some of which date back to the Bronze Age. Legends say that they are works created by the Cyclopes, gigantic deities who inhabited the earth in the mists of time. Is it possible that these buildings are the remains of an ancient Italian lineage of giants?
Was Italy once inhabited by giants? Kilometers of walls built with enormous blocks of polygonal stone still survive in Italy. These are very ancient ruins, extraordinarily unique in their kind, created with a technique similar to that used by the Inca and Pre-Inca populations of Peru: enormous stones shaped to fit together perfectly without mortar.
And as in Peru, these extraordinary works have resisted centuries of abandonment and subsequent plundering for construction purposes by the Etruscans and Romans.
Unfortunately, there are few Italian scholars who are interested in this wonderful cultural and anthropological heritage, so much so that few even know of its existence.
Italy is full of megalithic walls and it's about understanding why these walls were built with these enormous blocks used as if they were simple bricks. These are 'silent' monuments, in the sense that whoever built them either did not yet have writing or did not write about them. Now it's a question of understanding, through archaeoastronomy, why they made them and whether there were links to astronomical phenomena.
Very little is known about the prehistoric builders of these great structures. Most of the sites are located in central Italy, particularly in southern Lazio. They are works that have intrigued scholars and travelers for centuries, and due to their bizarre and futuristic appearance, legend attributes their construction to an extinct race of giant humans called Cyclopes.
Some historical truth regarding the existence of a population or tribe that responded to the name of "Cyclops" is given to us by Thucydides in book VI of his Histories when he is about to talk about the barbarian populations existing in Sicily before Greek colonization. So he writes:
"It is said that the oldest people to inhabit a part of the country were the Laestrygonians and the Cyclopes, of whom I could not say either their lineage or whence they came or where they retreated: suffice it to say what has been said by the poets and what each in a one way or another he knows about it."
Many other classical writers and historians, including Homer, Hesiod, Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus have attributed the construction of the megalithic structures of Italy (and Europe in general) to the Cyclopes.
They were described as much taller, stronger and more intelligent than man, so much so that they had the ability and strength to move enormous boulders and build 'cyclopean' works. Thus wrote Louisa Caroline Tuthill in 1848, in her History of Architecture:
"In ancient times, before the birth of Rome, Italy was inhabited by peoples who left indestructible monuments as evidence of their history.Those marvelous and early cities of Italy, which have been called cyclopean, are thickly scattered over many regions, and often perched on the crests of mountains like eagles' nests, at such an altitude that one wonders what drove men to build in such inaccessible places."
Yet, despite the vastness of the Cyclopean ruins present in the area and the numerous literary testimonies, one has the impression that contemporary scholars do not take these ancient testimonies seriously; indeed, one has the impression that for Italian archaeologists the ancient history of Italian peninsula began with the Etruscans, and everything that was there before is not worth studying. Why?
In reality, it does not seem like a stretch to say that in the last century in Italy (and in Europe) there seems to have been a subtle cover-up on these archaeological sites, ignoring them and causing them to fall into oblivion. It is as if the elite that governs the world does not want the mystery of the ancient megalithic ruins to be widely disclosed. Again, why?
One clue to the subtle cover-up is the fact that most people, especially Italians, are not aware of the existence of such ruins at all. Many live next to it without understanding its importance, nor its historical and existential value. And this is very strange indeed considering the degree of complexity of these prehistoric ruins.
Another oddity is that in academia, even if they are mentioned in important works of the past, it is stated that the builders of such works, the Cyclopes, never existed.
More generally, when you try to talk to a scholar today about a possible lineage of giants that lived in remote times on our planet, he or she reacts either with sarcasm, dampening the comparison with laughter, or using the ostrich technique, and that is, putting your head in the sand so as not to perceive the danger that threatens your granite beliefs.
Certainly, a Victorian-era scholar would not have laughed. By the way, many of the Victorian scholars were women, more open-minded and free-minded creatures.
Italian cyclopean structures
Below we propose a series of megalithic structures present on Italian territory, at least those we have become aware of so far.
Alatri (Lazio)
It is a municipality in the province of Frosinone and is one of the main cities of Ciociaria. It is the ancient Aletrium, which was one of the main centers of the Italic people of the Ernici. Known above all for the pre-Roman acropolis surrounded by megalithic walls.
Alba Fucens (Abruzzo)
Alba Fucens is an Italian archaeological site, born as a colony under Latin law, which occupied an elevated and well-fortified position (located at almost 1,000 m above sea level) at the foot of Monte Velino, approximately 7 km north of today's city of Avezzano.
Amelia (Umbria)
Amelia, formerly known by the name of Ameria, created by Ameroe, is a city of very ancient origins: it was certainly among the first Italian centers. Cato, quoted by Pliny, states that the city was restored 964 years before the Roman war against Perseus, king of Macedonia, and therefore in 1134 BC.
Evidence of this age are the monumental polygonal walls (5th-4th century BC), which surround a large part of the town, together with the Roman and medieval ones, for about 2 km.
Atina (Lazio)
Legend attributes very ancient origins to Atina: it was founded by Saturn in the mythical golden age, together with 5 other cities in Lazio that begin with the letter A.
Historical and literary sources attest with reasonable certainty to its existence in pre-Roman times: it is known that in a passage from the Aeneid Virgil included it among the cities that prepared arms to help Turnus against Aeneas.
Cosa (Tuscany)
It was a Roman colony near Orbetello. The name seems to derive from that of a nearby Etruscan city, Cusi or Cosia, which must have been built near the beach which today is called Lido del venerabile in the nearby Orbetello lagoon.
Norba Latina (Lazio)
Latin Norba, was an ancient city on the Lepini mountains, in a dominant position on the Pontine plain south of Rome, near present-day Norma, in the province of Latina. Legend tells us that Norba was founded by Hercules or by the Cyclopes. Doctor Stefania Quilici Gigli, who has been directing the excavation activities of the archaeological park for years, provided a study to try to reconstruct the history of Norba.
Already from the end of the 9th century BC the area surrounding the city of Norba experienced a large population, as evidenced by the necropolis of Caracupa, some tombs in the area adjacent to the Abbey of Valvisciolo and the megalithic walls on Monte Carbolino.
Pietrabbondante (Molise)
It is located in Alto Molise, at 1027 m above sea level. The name came from the large quantity of stones and stones scattered throughout its territory.
San Felice Circeo (Lazio)
The town of San Felice Circeo has an ancient history that begins with Neanderthal men. Over the centuries, Circeo was a Roman colony, a possession of the Templars during the Middle Ages, a fiefdom of the Caetani and finally a papal stronghold.
Segni (Lazio)
It is an Italian municipality in the province of Rome. The first settlements in the territory of Segni date back to the Bronze Age, but the town developed only in Roman times, a time in which Segni held a strategic position on the Sacco river valley.
