Earthly paradise? It was in Valganna 10 thousand years ago

No “flexibility”: the example of how living a happy life comes from the far Mesolitic, when the ice left the Lombardy valleys and the first population began to live in the area of Varese, crossroads between north and south, a strategic route for exchanges and barters.

It was a highly-uninhabited area, where there were no private propriety yet, because man was hunter and harvester, a nomad, and the only war he did was the one against animals with the aim of defending himself or feeding.

A sort of earthly paradise (do not misunderstand this word: a hell, if compared with 2013 life expectancy and the comforts of nowadays), where nature was the queen because man did not know yet how to try to dominate it.

Volfrano Rossi is an old searcher of these statements that today, after decades of passion head on, allows them to reach us as little stone fragments. For many people they are only sharp stones. However for those who have the history researcher’s expert eye, the little sharp flint stone splinters are the final part of an weapon with which they could get to the throat and to the heart of a bear; or that stone which to an inexperienced person results only a bit sharp-cornered, was a rabble, to strip hairs and skin from the quarry and to separate the meat in order to feed themselves or their families.

Rossi explains: “It’s since the 80s that we are searching in forests, grasslands and peat bogs of these areas. We constituted, at that time, the “Valganna Archaeological Group”, with some friends and with the supervision of don Mario Frecchiami, Soprintendenza’s honourary inspector. We have never excavated: it’s more like a research operation near Badia di Ganna and in general in other Valganna areas where it was more possible to find these surfaced microlithic tools, which have been realised with chipping the silicon.”

Volfrano (name that, as chance would have it, takes the Nordic roots from deusch “wulf”, wolf) reveals a little mystery, during a video report realised by Paolo Ricciardi of Valganna.info: silicon minerals do not exist in Valganna.

So, why so many finds which have been realised with this material have been found right here? “The reason is in the ability of these populations to exchange goods with the ones living in the southern Varesotto, south of Varese, where these minerals were present. Actually, the findings in Valganna, often chips, show us that these men had a great ability in working the stone in order to give it various forms, different and useful to these minerals.”

This age – defined by Rossi “golden age of humanity” – is estimated to be even before of the palafitte age, which already had a defensive purpose.

For weeks now some of the Valganna tools findings open the scientific itinerary of the exhibition have been kept in the archaeological museum of Villa Mirabello: they are the most ancient available. Other findings have been sent to the Soprintendenza, others again are on display and catalogued at the Badia di Ganna.

In short, it is a past that is talking to us, which comes to our days thanks to the passion of these people who give back the history of a place, as culture. Rossi concludes: “History that is worth to be told and brought back: until these finds will be kept in forests and peat bogs they will be safe, but not available: seeing the wealth kept in our valleys, it would be worthwhile that institutions, first of all the Soprintendenza, move in order to study and protect these attestations.”